They are the owners of the Bindi trained Lucky Elmo, the gelding who became the first juvenile winner of the new Australian racing year when he exploded to a four lengths victory in the Romantic Dream Plate, paying $21.50.

It was an effort which suggested Lucky Elmo should record more smart performances at two, including replicating the country trained horse whose name is bestowed on the race, if given the opportunity, racing well on metropolitan tracks.

Trained at Muswellbrook by the late Ron Englebrecht, the Baguette colt Romantic Dream also scored first up at Tamworth. He went on to win six more juvenile events, including the QTC Sires' Produce Stakes, and run second in the Golden Slipper. All told he won 15 races, including seven stakes.

Besides earning the distinction of being the first juvenile winner of the year, Lucky Elmo probably secured that of being the biggest sale bargain for 2008-09.The Cheers purchased the son of the Coolmore shuttled Danzig England Gimcrack Stakes winner and American Breeders' Cup Juvenile fourth Mull of Kintyre as a foal at foot with his dam Crafty Luck for only $1250 at the 2007 Inglis Sydney autumn sale. It was the same price Takeover Target cost at three at a Sydney sale in 2003.

Lucky Elmo is the fifth winner from the six foals to race out of Crafty Luck, a brilliantly bred mare whose six outings included a debut win in Adelaide at two and thirds at Flemington and Moonee Valley. She is by Golden Slipper winner Rory's Jester and from Abbott's Ann, a half-sister by Tolomeo (IRE) to Honor Code, an Adelaide Group 3 winner by Marscay, and to Coalition, a winner of three sprint races in Melbourne.

Coalition is the dam of two Group Three winners, Country Lodge and Razor Blade. The latter went to Scenic and produced the Melbourne sprinter Sunburnt Land, the winner of his seventh race in 15 starts when successful in the Hussonet Cup at Caulfield on September 20.

Crafty Luck is to be mated this year with Super Jet, an American bred three-quarter brother by the Danzig sire Dayjur to multiple Group1 winner and good sire Chief Bearhart standing at Bindi and Peter Cheers Guardian Park Stud near Taree on $2500. He is the sire of the Melbourne winners Afterburn, Tan Tat Jet, Jeteven and The Pentagon and also Supercilious (won Brisbane).

- Brian Russell