A FEW months ago I alerted readers to the fact that Willie Carson’s Minster Stud was offering for sale a half-sister to then then Grade 2 JCB Triumph Juvenile Hurdle winner Knight Salute (Sir Percy) at the December Sale.

Hazy Dancer (Oasis Dream) was a winning dam of four winners and a placed horse with her first five named foals, and she was in foal to Territories (Invincible Spirit) who stands this year for £10,000.

Hazy Dancer returned to Carson when she was unsold for 9,000gns. Her two-year-old son by Sir Percy (Mark of Esteem) will be offered for sale at next month’s Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale from Glending Stables, Roderick Kavanagh having secured him for 16,000gns last year. He is a three-parts brother to Knight Salute.

The latter sold as a foal for 32,000gns, and there was even more of a turn for Kilminfoyle House Stud when the colt was resold as a yearling for 98,000gns, signed for by Rabbah Bloodstock.

A winner over seven furlongs at two, the then gelded three-year-old was consigned from Andrew Balding’s stables, once again at Tattersalls, in July last year and purchased by Mark Adams for 14,000gns.

Trained by Milton Harris, Knight Salute is now unbeaten in five starts over hurdles and, with more than £100,000 in the bank for new connections, has rewarded them handsomely. He has now added two more Grade 2 wins, and he could graduate to Grade 1 class if he continues his upward ascendancy at Cheltenham.

Knight Salute is one of five winners for Shadow Dancing (Unfuwain), winner of the Listed Cheshire Oaks, runner-up in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes, and third in the Group 1 Oaks. The other successful offspring include a pair of stakes-placed fillies, one of them being his full-sister Dance The Dream (Sir Percy)

Top Spin

While this is a very smart flat producing family, almost every generation produces a jumper of note. Three of the seven winners from Knight Salute’s grandam Salchow (Niniski), also winner of the Cheshire Oaks, were multiple National Hunt winners. The third dam Spin (High Top) had eight winners, among them being Top Spin (Niniski) who won a Grade 2 novices’ hurdle at Sandown.

One further generation back and Hurlingham (Harken) numbered the Grade 1 Ladbroke Hurdle winner Roark (Relkino) as one of her trio of successful progeny.

Winner of the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at two and the Derby at three, the Lanwades Stud-based Sir Percy is one of the most consistent producers of quality, sound stock under any code.

His Group/Grade 1 winners on the flat are Sir John Hawkwood in Australia and Wake Forest in the USA, and last year his two-year-old daughter Kawida became his 24th stakes winner on the flat. Over jumps he is sire of the much-missed Presenting Percy.