A win in the Listed Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes on Waitangi Day set up a long weekend to remember, culminating with an outstanding result for Per Incanto (Street Cry-Pappa Reale by Indian Ridge) on the first day of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in Sydney on Sunday.
The adage that you should always forgive a good horse one poor performance rang true at Tauherenikau on Friday as the LA and Pip McCarroll bred and raced Tie Me Down (Pins-Ashley Downs by Grosvenor) landed the Listed Pioneer Finance Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes. The event has been a kind race to the farm over many years, with our most recent winner prior to Tie Me Down being Kekova (Elusive City-Racing Waters by Racing Is Fun) in 201. Christopher and Susannah Grace’s mare Waikaha (Towkay-Harinui by Generous) registered another stakes placing with her third place finish.
After making such a strong impression at the corresponding sale last year, Per Incanto had something of a reputation to up-hold at this year’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. And he didn’t let the pressure get to him, with this athletic colt from Da Vinci Code by Danasinga, selling to James Heron Bloodstock and Peter Snowden for $310,000, the highest price paid at the sale since 2007. On behalf of the farm and our partner in the Da Vinci Code colt, Palmerston North’s Stephen Mercer, we thank the team at Catriona and Royston Murphy’s Sledmere Stud in New South Wales for presenting the colt in such splendid order.
Saturday’s Doomben winner My Quilter (Pins-Sound Lover by Sound Reason) epitomises the qualities of class and soundness found in the progeny of his dam. The LA bred and owned Sound Lover has left 12 foals to date, ten of whom have raced and all won, including four stakes performers. Keep an eye out for her latest foal an unraced trial winning two-year-old Per Incanto colt.
Few horses were more deserving of success than Santiago (Towkay-Kintyre Lil by Casual Lies) who broke through for his maiden win on Sunday at Matamata over 1400m. The Stephen Marsh trained four-year-old gelding’s four career starts prior to Sunday had produced three second and one third place finishes.
