12th August 2010
The 2009/10 racing season has been another highly successful year in the 23-year history of Hamilton’s Highview Stud.
The farm was the birthplace of no fewer than five individual stakes winners during the past season comprising Waikato, Wealth Princess, Coup Align, Pennacchio and The Hombre.
“The past season has seen many outstanding performances by horses bred at Highview,” said studmaster Brent Gillovic.
“I have always maintained that a farm should be judged on the success of its graduates on the racetrack rather than in the sale ring,” said Gillovic. “Obviously we aim to breed Group winners each and ever season and it is fair to stay that the farm has a great history of doing just that,” he said.
The outstanding Laurie Laxon-trained galloper, Waikato, provided one of the season highlights for Highview when he delivered a Group 1 Singapore triumph in the Kranji Mile.
In addition Waikato managed to win the Group 3 Saas Fee Stakes and was runner-up in the Group 1 Raffles Cup.
Exciting Highview bred, reared and trained mare Wealth Princess emerged as one of the best sprinters produced in New Zealand in recent years with many high-class performances including two narrow Group 1 runner-up finishes in weight-for-age events.
Bred by Victor Ngai at Highview, Wealth Princess scored a scintillating win in the Group 3 Glenlogan Park Stakes at Doomben in May and beat all but the champion Australian three-year-old filly, Melito, in the Group 1 Winter Stakes. As well she managed a gutsy third placing in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes at Eagle Farm in June.
In winning her fourth race in succession at Te Rapa last summer Wealth Princess broke a 14-year old track record when she covered the 1200m journey in the smart time of 1:08.59.
At the conclusion of her successful Brisbane campaign Wealth Princess joined the Freedmans stable and undoubtedly she has plenty more good times ahead this season.
Brilliant gallopers Pennacchio and Coup Align flew the flag for their Highview Stud-based sire, Align, in fine fashion this season. Align went close to winning the Singapore sires’ premiership last season and has achieved some very notable results in Hong Kong with a limited number of runners.
The reputation of Andrew Scott-trained Pennacchio certainly rose to new heights with a notable stakes double at the Brisbane winter carnival.
She won the Listed Centenary Classic Mile (1600m) as well as the Listed Myer Spear Chief Handicap in Brisbane and to date she has won eight of her 16 starts to date.
Pennacchio will be aimed at the Triple Crown weight-for-age series at Hastings during the spring commencing with a tilt at the Group 1 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes (1400m) later this month.
Michael Pitman-trained Coup Align also chimed in with a brace of stakes race wins last season. He was successful in the Group 3 Stewards Handicap as well as posted Listed race victories in the Pegasus Stakes and Eclipse Stakes.
There is no hiding the big opinion that Pitman has of Coup Align.
“He is a brilliant horse - the fastest thing on four legs in New Zealand at present,” Pitman said after Coup Align’s win in the Pegasus Stakes.
Pitman plans to take Coup Align across to the Melbourne spring carnival for some major sprint assignments.
The Hombre was another top performer at the Brisbane winter racing carnival where he captured the Group 3 Rough Habit Plate with an exhilirating performance. He also finished a game second in the Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, Gillovic reports strong bookings for Highview Stud’s first-season stallion Sufficient.
“In Sufficient I believe breeders in New Zealand have a unique opportunity to send their mares to a stakes winning son of the incomparable Zabeel,” Gillovic said.
“He certainly had the ability on the racetrack and he has a pedigree chock full of every breed shaper of the New Zealand industry in recent times.
“There is no doubt Zabeel is going to leave a top stallion and Sufficient has the credentials to be the one. After all he (Sufficient) matured early enough to win a stakes race as a two-year-old and then went on to be the early Derby favourite. He is a very exciting prospect at an affordable fee for breeders,” Gillovic said.
Gillovic said Sufficient will cross very well with most New Zealand bloodlines.
“Obviously breeders should look closely at Zabeel’s best nicks but then you have Centaine, Sound Reason and Oncidium close up on his dam’s side,” he said.
Sufficient is one of only seven stakes winning two year olds sired by Zabeel and one of only three male stakes winning two year olds sired by Zabeel – the others being Octagonal and Vengeance Of Rain.
He won the Listed ARC Champagne Stakes (1600m) as a two-year-old at only his second race-day start.
Sufficient’s dam is the Group 2 winning mare Fleur De Chine who in turn is the dam of the Group 1 Australasian Oaks winner Tully Thunder.
14-times Dewar Award winning stallion Zabeel is the greatest living sire at stud in Australasia. He is the sire of 41 individual Group 1 winners and has sired no fewer than 132 individual stakes winners. He stands at a fee of $100,000 plus gst but has a limited book of mares.
Furthermore, another resident sire Danroad and former resident sire Johar have enjoyed some outstanding results on the racetrack in recent months which bodes well for their prospects in the new racing season.
Cambridge trainers Tony Pike and Mark Donoghue have a huge opinion of the four-year-old son of Danroad, Yangming, who added to his impressive record with an easy two and a quarter length victory at the Taumarunui Racing Club meeting at Te Rapa on July 31.
“He is undoubtedly one of the most talented young horses we have in the stable,” said Pike. “He dealt to his rivals at Te Rapa and has some serious ability.”
Danroad was also represented by his first winner in Macau recently. This success came when Luen Yat Brilliant was successful over 1300m.
Danroad has a large number of yearlings on the ground and mares in foal to him which will ensure a much larger number of runners on the track and undoubtedly see his progeny come to the forefront in the seasons to come.
Former resident stallion Johar has been very much to the fore on the Singapore racing circuit in recent months after some dominant winning performances by his progeny.
These include the Emirates Dakar Stakes winner April’s Knight who has been touted by trainer Stephen Gray as a major Singapore Derby hope next year.
April’s Knight was purchased as a yearling by Gray with staying races in mind and the trainer is hopeful the rising four-year-old will measure up as a Singapore Derby prospect next year.Gray said April’s Knight had a “stayers pedigree” and was purchased at the Karaka Premier Yearling Sales. “He was bred at Highview Stud and they are renowned for getting nice horses, so we decided to take a punt on him.“We nursed him and he then had a preparation at home before we brought him up here where he has continued to improve.“I’ll back off on him now and hopefully we’ll be back here in 12 months time winning the Derby.”Another flagbearer for Johar in Singapore has been Gustoriko who has been highly successful in three of his five starts to date. He scored his latest impressive win at the Singapore meeting last Friday night when he won a class 4 1200m event on the Polytrack on which he is unbeaten.
