Sandown Stud’s successful resident sire Ashaawes looks to have a really smart filly on his hands in the form of two-year-old Aurelia Cotta.

The latter made a winning debut for champion trainer Sean Tarry on Thursday at Turffontein when justifiying favouritism over 1400m-despite being slow into stride, and Aurelia Cotta looks to have a bright future ahead of her.

Bred by the Sandown Stud, Aurelia Cotta (who is closely inbred to Nureyev) was a R120 000 buy from last year’s March Yearling Sale.

She is the fifth winner in the past few days for Kingmambo sire Ashaawes, whose progeny have been firing on all cylinders lately.

Ashaawes, whose son Sanshaawes continues to do him proud in Dubai where he has picked up at least 17 cheques, has had just five juvenile runners thus far, but three have won or finished in the money.

Other notables sired by Ashaawes include versatile filly Priceless Jewel (a multiple graded stakes winner who earned nearly R900 000 in stakes), exported G3 Matchem Stakes winner Reim, top sprinter Asstar and high class stakes winners Scented Ash and Way Clear.

The son of Kingmambo has six lots on this weekend’s March Yearling Sale, including a filly from the family of great racemare Olympic Duel and current top class 3yo Gold Standard (Lot 13), a filly out of a full-sister to champion Battle Maiden (Lot 20), a filly out of a three time winning Captain Al mare (Lot 34), a filly out of a winning Var ½ sister to G3 winner Forest Of Dean (Lot 145), a colt from the great Enchanting family (Lot 172), and a colt (bred on the great Kingmambo/Sadler’s Wells cross) whose winning Fort Wood dam is a half-sister to stakes winning sprinter Esterel (Lot 252).