Dance Hi earns spell after two decades
An important chapter in the story of a successful WA racing family has closed after Dance Hi was retired from broodmare duties.
Dance Hi is the dam of star sprinter Barakey, who won last year's Winterbottom Stakes.
All six of Dance Hi's foals to have raced are winners.
The 1995 Champion Fillies Stakes winner also produced Hi On Love, who won the same feature 10 years later, and Belmont Oaks winner Ifestio.
"She's 22 years old," said Aristos Mihalopoulos, who owns Dance Hi with his uncle, Terry Zeppos.
"I can't complain. She's done a great job.
"I just hope the family continues on."
The family legacy looks set to live on through Magnifisio, who scored a valuable black-type win in the RS Crawford Stakes (1000m) on Saturday.
Magnifisio, out of Ifestio, scorched the turf to win the Listed sprint by 1 ½ lengths.
The four-year-old mare successfully backed up from her brilliant win over 1200m at Ascot a week earlier.
"She wasn't going to start," trainer Jim Taylor said.
"She was going to the Summer Scorcher but she pulled up that well from last week, I put her in.
"It makes her very valuable, being from Barakey's family.
"She's a great filly. I always thought from the start she was going to get to open company."
Taylor will consider aiming Magnifisio at the $100,000 Summer Scorcher (1000m) on January 1. He also has Mendicity set for the sprint.
Barakey has been back in work for a week at Taylor's Bullsbrook stables ahead of a tilt at the Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington in February.
Mihalopoulos and Zeppos have Dance Hi's last foal, a two-year-old colt by So Secret.
Dance Hi slipped to Key Business this year and missed to the same sire last year.
