The Sunline legacy lives on.Racegoers at Te Rapa were treated to a rare spectacle on Saturday when the first two foals of the mighty mare Sunline crossed the line locked together in a 1200m sprint.A photo finish was needed to determine that the younger of the two, Sun Ruler, had won by the barest of margins, a nose, from big sister Sunstrike."It could not have worked out better, apart from a dead-heat and half a stride past the post it was pretty close to that," trainer Stephen McKee told the Su

The Sunline legacy lives on.

Racegoers at Te Rapa were treated to a rare spectacle on Saturday when the first two foals of the mighty mare Sunline crossed the line locked together in a 1200m sprint.

A photo finish was needed to determine that the younger of the two, Sun Ruler, had won by the barest of margins, a nose, from big sister Sunstrike.

"It could not have worked out better, apart from a dead-heat and half a stride past the post it was pretty close to that," trainer Stephen McKee told the Sunday Star Times.

The pair, wearing the famous McKee colours that Sunline sported in her 32-win career, flashed down the outside of the track, sweeping away from the rest of the field.

Their mother died just eight months ago, having to be put down after suffering from the crippling disease laminitis.

She was New Zealand's greatest race mare, winning 13 races at Group One level, including two Cox Plates and the 2000 Hong Kong Mile, and amassing $13.7 million ($A11.3 million) in stakes money.

The two horses are quite different. Sun Ruler, a $2 million buy for Auckland real estate agent Don Ha, is an entire by Zabeel and a middle-distance staying type, while Sunstrike, by Rock of Gibraltar, is a sprinter.

McKee, who trained Sunline in partnership with his father Trevor, said Sun Ruler would be taken through the grades and should be seen at his best next year, when he is five.

"I think he'll end up being a fast front-running 2000 metre horse who will be suited by a race like the Kelt Stakes," McKee said.

Sunstrike is a handy sprinter, who has had one win from 12 starts, but always tries hard, said McKee.

The McKees and Thayne Green, who was a part-owner of Sunline, have two more fillies out of the great mare.

Sunalta, a three-year-old by Rock Of Gibraltar, is due to trial next week, while Sunsett, by Hussonet, has been broken in and turned out.

"They are both late foals and take a while to mature," said McKee.

Leith Innes rode Sun Ruler yesterday, while McKee apprentice Toni McMullen was on Sunstrike.