Highview

19 November 2009

Canterbury trainer Michael Pitman is adamant that Coup Align is the quickest horse on the New Zealand racing scene this season.
 
The four-year-old son of Align completed the sprint double at the New Zealand Cup meeting at Riccarton this month winning the Listed Pegasus Stakes (1000m) and Group 3 Stewards Stakes (1200m).

Coup Align flew out of the gates from his wide barrier draw of 12 and led easily. Jockey Lisa Allpress steered clear of the rails entering the straight and when the opposition approached Coup Align's hindquarters at the 150m, he found another gear and sprinted away
 
“He is a brilliant horse - the fastest thing on four legs in New Zealand at present,” Pitman said.
 
“What is more we have not seen what he can truly achieve yet. He’s only had a dozen starts and the best is yet to come,” Pitman added.
 
Coup Align has now won eight times from 12 starts, four of them at Riccarton, for $175,000 in prizemoney.
 
His major summer target will be the $1 million Telegraph Handicap (1200m) at Trentham on January 23.
 
Before that Coup Align will start in a 1250m sprint at Waikouaiti, north of Dunedin, on New Year's Day for a stake of $11,000.
 
Coup Align was bred by Highview Stud, Hamilton, and is raced by successful South Island businessman Ray Coupland in partnership with Jill Walls.
 
Coup Align was a $30,000 purchase at the Karaka yearling sales in 2007 and is one of four winning foals from the Snippets mare, Diamond Snip. He is one of five individual Group winners and 12 individual stakes performers for his Group 1 winning sire, Align, who stands at Highview Stud.
 
Align is currently among the top 10 sires in New Zealand for the 2008/09 season and of any of these stallions he has best strike rate of winners to starters.
 
He is also the second leading southern hemisphere-based stallion on the Singapore general sires table behind O’Reilly and Align also has the best strike rate on this premiership.