Josie Hittman, the lady at the helm of Flower Hill Stud in the Adelaide Hills, is one of South Australia's unsung heroes of the thoroughbred industry.

When she's not out working on her team of horses at her Birdwood property, Hittman is busy in her position as a committee member of the Breeders' Association. Hittman has her heart right where it needs to be. She is a lover of the thoroughbred and it shows with the presentation of her yearlings when they are offered at public auction.

I'm sure she was hoping it would be the case, but when Hittmann looked to the then unproven Victorian based Encosta de Lago as a potential stallion to send her good mare El Jauhara, would she have dreamed it would produce one of the most talked about yearlings in the lead up to the Adelaide Yearling Sale.

As we currently know there is hardly a hotter sire in Australia than the Blue Gum Farm based Encosta de Lago. A Group One winner on the track he is enjoying a great run with his progeny. Just a couple of weeks ago one of his youngsters made one of the most impressive deputs seen in Victoria for some time. Delago Brom, a member of the Tommy Hughes Jr yard, continued the run of the son of Fairy King are a sire.

Two of the four first stakes placed performers for Encosta were Betula and Largo, both of which were from El Qahira mares. So there was the first bonus for Hittman as El Jauhara is also by El Qahira. But to add even more joy to the pedigree page of the potential yearling was the fact both Largo and Betula were already closely related to El Jauhara. So when the yearling would be foaled in the first few days of the 2000 breeding season it would become a three quarter relation to two impressive stakes performeers.

Did I also reveal earlier that El Jauhara, who was unraced, is a three quarter sister to the stakes winning stars Alcove (AJC Oaks G1, Ansett Australia S G1), Viminaria (Swettenham Stud S G3), Eau Savage, Grey Alder and Maritama. She's also a half sister to Queensland stakes winner Muffler.

On August 6 in 2000, Hittmann was presented with a bay colt. A big supporter of bonus schemes, she would make sure the colt would be qualified for both SABIS and Super VOBIS.

But you couldn't believe the best was yet to come.......

In October the following year El Jauhara's second runner Elathea broke her maiden status in sensational style. After racing handy throughout the John Hall trained daughter of Barathea burst away to easily take the listed Hill Smith Stakes.

After Beune, her first runner who was already a city winner and three time winner, was obviously feeling out of place on the colt's pedigree page. The David Jolly trained mare must have realised she was "bold-free" and thought it must have been time to further enhance the illustrious family.

So it was early in December and a balmy day in Adelaide. It was OJ Smith Challenge Stakes day in the city of churches and After Beune was certainly up for the challenge. The daughter of Jeune came home with a withering burst down the long Victoria Park straight and she cruised home to a listed triumph.

So now El Jauhara was the dam of two runners, two stakes winners!

So come session two of the Adelaide Select Yearling Sale and I'm sure the blood will be pumping through Josie Hittmann a little more than it was an hour earlier. Her star of the team will have his moment of truth and she will have her fingers crossed there are atleast two buyers desperate to take him home.

PICS - Jenny Barnes

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