Postponed leads the charge of NZ sophomore sires

New Zealand's second season sires not only stepped up to the mark last Saturday, they also produced the kind of results that help to fill books at this critical stage of the season.

Postoned, sire of three stakeswinners from his first crop: NATURO, DORABELLA & POST THYME.

Stoney Bridge's Postponed was the weekend's undoubted star among sires with two crops of racing age, producing three-year-old stakeswinners at Hastings and Riccarton Park. As Stoney Bridge general manager Peter Jenkins says, “It's the sort of weekend every stud dreams about."

Postponed's powerful daughter Naturo could not have been more impressive in winning the $70,000 HBRI Gold Trail S. 1200m G3, though runner-up Magic Tryst (by Magic Ring) finished gamely, and Dorabella was scarcely less convincing in the CJC Canterbury Belle S. 1200m LR.


Both Naturo and Dorabella are raced by their breeders, NZTBA Waikato members Andrew & Dionne McLachlan (Naturo), and Nancy & Peter Izett (Dorabella), and they are likely to meet in the CJC New Zealand 1000 Guineas G1 on 11 November, a race for which Naturo is fixed odds favourite.

Postponed, a strapping G2-winning son of Summer Squall, is now the sire of three stakeswinners from 19 starters in his 69-strong first crop, and holds a clear lead on the New Zealand sophomore sires list, with prizemoney of $85,500. Not surprisingly, his 2006 book is now full.

Rich Hill Stud's Bertolini holds second position after his son Giovanni scored his third successive win in a $40,000 race at Hastings for three-year-old colts and geldings that was marred by the breakdown of Asama, which wrecked the chances of several runners.

Racing in Sydney provided Highview Stud's San Luis with the significant milestone of his first stakeswinner, from only seven runners to date. That was the Australian-bred three-year-old gelding Star of Luis, trained by part-owner Rick Worthington to win the STC Heritage S. LR at Rosehill.

Runner-up to Dorabella in Christchurch was Keeper On, who gave her sire, Cambridge Stud's Keeper, his second first-crop stakes performer, after Keep The Message, winner of the Levin RC Ryder S. LR as a late two-year-old, and third in the Wanganui Guineas LR earlier this month. Keeper is now fourth on the New Zealand second season sires' table.

Third-crop sires weren't quite so prominent last weekend, but Highview Stud's Align got a placegetter at Hastings, the four-year-old mare Realign, second to Pinsoir in a competitive 1300-metre event.