[NoChanceToDance]

From Coolmore.......

First Australian Winner For Hawk Wing
15th December 2007

Young shuttle sire Hawk Wing posted his first Australian winner at Flemington on Saturday when the David Hayes trained colt Joyful Warrior (2c Hawk Wing - Southern Quest, by Rainbow Quest) took out the open juvenile event over 1100 metres.

Having his first race start, Joyful Warrior settled just off the pace for Craig Williams and then gradually wore down the favourite Minnesota Shark to score by the best part of a length.

Bred and offered for sale by Queensland based farm Canning Downs, Joyful Warrior was bought by Hong Kong trainer Almond Lee for $110,000 at the 2007 Magic Millions Yearling Sale and was the most expensive yearling sired by Hawk Wing sold in Australasia this year.

A tall strongly built brown colt very much in the mould of his Group One winning sire, Joyful Warrior is the second foal of the winning Rainbow Quest mare Southern Quest.

A half-sister to several stakes-placed horses, Southern Quest claims champion filly Northernette as her third dam, a dual Group One winner of 13 races and full sister to influential sire Storm Bird.

Hawk Wing shuttled to Coolmore Australia for two seasons in 2004 and 2005, standing at a fee of $22,000 and leaving 136 live foals in total, the second crop to be offered at sales in Australia in 2008.

In the Northern Hemisphere, Hawk Wing will stand the 2008 season in Ireland at a fee of 15,000 euros and has done very well with his first NH crop which includes 28 winners throughout the Northern Hemisphere led by the stakes-winning filly Triskel and stakes horses Feared in Flight, Barking Wolf and Lazy Afternoon.

A Group One winner at seven furlongs as a juvenile, Hawk Wing also won at Group One level as a three and four year-old so his progeny can be expected to train on and improve further with time.