14 September 2009
Champion jockey Michael Walker was full of praise for the performance of the regally-bred Johar three-year-old filly, Guiseppina, in notching up her first race-day success at the Taupo spring race meeting at Taupo on Wednesday.
Walker Sings Praises Of Well-Bred Johar Filly
In narrowly taking out the Len Erickson Memorial (1300m) Guiseppina provided her sire, former Highview Stud shuttler Johar, with his first New Zealand race-day winner.
“She dug really deep in the final stages and put up a very game effort to get the win,” Walker said.
“She is learning all the time and still has a lot of improvement in her,” Walker said. “She is a filly with a very good future and will get better over more ground.”
Owned by Peter and Philip Vela of Cambridge-based Pencarrow Stud, Guiseppina is trained at Matamata by Mark Walker. The Velas bred Guiseppina who is from their dual Listed winner, Battochi.
Guiseppina showed plenty of heart when finishing third on debut on August 12 when only beaten into third by 1.5 lengths. At Taupo on Wednesday it was a different story, after settling well back in the field in the hands of Walker she mounted her challenge at the turn and fought doggedly to the line to win this time.
Johar (Gone West x Windsharp) stood at Highview Stud, near Hamilton, in the 2005 and 2006 southern hemisphere seasons but didn’t return for a third season after having colic surgery.
Johar won the G1 Breeder’s Cup Turf over 1 ½ miles as a 4yo, deadheating with High Chaparral who also shuttled to New Zealand for his first Southern Hemisphere season in 2005.
In the Breeder’s Cup race Johar ran down both High Chaparral and the Champion Falbrav having started lengths behind the other two horses at the top of the straight. Johar also won the G1 Hollywood Derby over 9f. He did not race at 2 but had started 3 times within the first two months of his 3 year old year. After failing to break his maiden on dirt in his first two starts Johar was successfully switched to turf for his next 14 starts.
His record from those 14 starts was an impressive 6 wins, 4 seconds and 2 thirds. He set new record times in two of the stakes races he won, a sign of genuine class in a racehorse.
