The last stakes race of the year, the Listed Ryder Stakes, has been run and won by Aternatin(Showcasing[GB]-Fudge).
A lightly raced two-year-old, by Showcasing(GB), he became the eighth individual two-year-old winner for that sire and his third two-year-old stakes winner this season.
Aternatin began his racing career in December and finished sixth behind the subsequent Group One winner Sword of Osman. He next appeared at the races in late March where he finished fifth, and then did not race again until May.
Once he struck a wet track, he hit form and went into the Ryder Stakes on the back of a win and a third placing all on the Awapuni track. He is trained at Awapuni by Mathew Eales for a large syndicate of owners, put together by Eales after he was purchased from the NZ Bloodstock Festival Sale last year for $7,000.
Aternatin was bred by Rich Hill Stud, who purchased his dam Fudge, an unraced full-sister to Eire Hostess a listed winner of three races, both being by O’Reilly out of the Lord Ballina(AUS) mare Bali Hi in 2013. Bali Hi was a three times winning daughter of the former top filly Tasman Dancer, making her a half-sister to the stakes performers Danasar, Bali Sugar and My Marilyn.
My Marilyn is the dam of three Group One winners; the Gr.1 Australian Derby winner Headturner, the Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of her year O’Marilyn – also by O’Reilly- and the Caulfield Guineas winner Anacheeva, who is now at successful sire.
Bali Sugar is the dam of the Gr.3 winner Butterscotch, and the Gr.2 New Zealand Thoroughbred Stakes winner Viennetta.
In 2017, Rich Hill Stud also offered Fudge up for sale at the NZ Bloodstock National Broodmare and Weanling Sale and now Waikato based breeder Kevin Taylor was ring side and in the market for a couple of broodmares. Taylor knew a little bit about this family having bred and raced Viennetta and didn’t hesitate to buy Fudge at $4,000.
He takes up the story, “Julie and I bought her for our daughter Erica and her partner Josh Shaw, Erica has a Beauty Therapy business in Palmerston North and Josh is a trainer at Levin.
“She was in foal to Shocking(AUS) and produced a filly which they plan to keep now as she is a half-sister to a stakes winner. Especially as Mathew Eales has high hopes for Aternatin and thinks he can win the Wanganui Guineas. She is now in foal to Turn Me Loose.
“Erica and Josh are stoked, Josh had a runner in the race but he didn’t think it would handle the track, fortunately for him it didn’t, I don’t think he would have been very popular with Erica if he had beaten Aternatin,” quipped Taylor.
Shaw is in his first season as a trainer and had Somewhere Man who had been placed in his only other start in the race. He and Taylor also purchased another mare at the same sale as Fudge, a Starcraft mare called Startina who is currently in foal to Divine Prophet(AUS), and both mares reside at Julie and Kevin Taylor’s Koru Thoroughbreds property outside Hamilton.
Previously the Taylor’s were based in the Hawkes Bay, but presented their first draft of yearlings from the new base last summer.
“This will be our second draft at Karaka, last year we had a 100% clearance rate with an average of $175,000 so we were pretty proud of that,” said Taylor.
“It’s a family operation, we run it with our son Mathew and his fiancé Melissa Speers, and they plan to get married after the sales next year.
The purchase of Bali Sugar as a broodmare started the ball rolling for the Taylors. The first foal they bred was the Pins(AUS) mare Viennetta who won five races including the Gr.2 New Zealand Thoroughbred Stakes, a race she also ran third in after it was promoted to Group One status.
She is also the dam of three winners including Golden Archer the winner of eight races, five at stakes level, and now at stud in Queensland, and Neapolitan (by Denman[AUS]), who won twice and was third in the Listed Dequetteville Stakes in Adelaide. Bali Sugar died recently at age 26.
“It’s been a great family for us, since we bought Bali Sugar back in the late 90’s. There is still a fair bit going on, especially in Australia, Chris Waller has some nice colts out of the family, and of course he produced McKintosh(Pins[AUS]-Lolly Scramble ex Bali Sugar) to add to the stakes winners tally last season.
“Neapolitan(Denman[AUS]- Viennetta) has just retired, and she will go to Merchant Navy(AUS) before she comes home. We also have mares from this family going to Sebring(AUS) Divine Prophet(AUS), and Invader(AUS). It’s a family that likes speed, which is why we mainly use Australian based stallions.”
Now Bali Sugar’s family has a new stakes winner and the Taylor family has another generation of successful breeders as well. - Michelle Saba
