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Hilal to stand at Grangewilliam Stud

Australian Group 2 winner and multiple Group 1 performer Hilal (Fastnet Rock) will commence stud duties at Mark and Jane Corcoran’s Grangewilliam Stud at Waitotara this spring and he will stand for an introductory fee of $7,500 (plus GST)

The well-bred son of Fastnet Rock (Danehill) was prepared predominantly by Team Hawkes in a career that spanned three seasons. 

Bred and raced by Emirates Park, Hilal’s three career wins are headed by his victory in the 2021 Stan Fox Stakes (Gr 2, 1500m), a victory he followed up with the triumph in the AU$1 million Bondi Stakes (1600m). He accrued $1,363,000 in career prize-money. 

He also recorded a second place finish behind Anamoe (Street Boss) in the Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and filled that same position behind Captivant (Capitalist) in the Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m). 

Hilal is out of the unraced Encosta De Lago (Fairy King) mare Salma, who has also produced the South African stakes winner Trojan Harbour (Harbour Watch) and the Queensland Listed winner Salateen (I Am Invincible). 

Salma herself is a daughter of Group 3 winner Salameh (Secret Savings), a half-sister to Emirates Park-bred Group 1 winner and sire Al Maher (Danehill). 

A Limited number of lifetime breeding rights are also available to Hilal at $15,000 (plus GST). 

“We’re delighted to secure Hilal for stud duties and believe he will prove a strong addition to the New Zealand stallion ranks,” Mark Corcoran said. 

“He has a fantastic pedigree and was a high-class racehorse who matched it at the elite level over three seasons. The fact he was a precocious sprinter-miler by a champion sire and out of a mare by a champion sire and broodmare sire really appeals. 

“We’d like to think those that help give Hilal the right launching-pad for his career in the breeding barn get rewarded in the longer term. He has all the right attributes to be a successful stallion.”

 

Fashion Shoot to go the distance

Fashion Shoot (Savabeel) has yet to win beyond 1400 metres, but the in-form mare’s camp is confident she can go the distance at Ellerslie on Saturday. The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained six-year-old will step up to a mile in the hands of Opie Bosson in the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), having produced a flawless dress rehearsal. Fashion Shoot defeated dual elite-level winner Mustang Valley (Vanbrugh) last time out at Tauranga and, despite a three-kilogram weight shift in favour of her race rival, another top showing is expected. “Fashion Shoot is in really good form and thriving on her racing. This is the time to have a crack at the trip,” Bergerson said. “She’s drawn out a bit but she’s better ridden cold so it shouldn’t make too much of a difference. She always tries her heart out and the key is to get her to settle. If she gets the splits, then I’m sure she can give it a good shake. The two favourites [La Crique and Mustang Valley] will be very hard to beat but we are happy with our mare.”

 

Belclare primed for Breeders’ Stakes defence

Awapuni raider Belclare (Per Incanto) will attempt a rare feat when she heads to Ellerslie to defend her title in Saturday’s New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes. There have been no back-to-back winners of the prestigious fillies and mares’ feature since it was elevated to Group 1 status in 2002. Belclare heads into this year’s Breeders’ Stakes on the back of an unplaced finish in last month’s WFA Classic (Gr 1, 1600m), but she has since scored a trial win over Papa Surf (Dalghar) and Lantern Way (Satono Aladdin). “I think we can definitely put her last-start performance down to the wet track at Otaki that day,” trainer Lisa Latta said. “All of her best form is on dry ground, and as soon as it gets too wet, she really doesn’t perform at all. But she’s had a great few weeks since that race. She won a trial earlier this month, then had another jum-pout last week just to keep her up to the mark. She went really nicely in both of those. She goes well with a bit of space between her runs, and I think she’s had the right sort of build-up to this race. She seemed to like that new track at Ellerslie when she ran in the Westbury there. I think she’s going into this race in a similar sort of shape to when she won it at Pukekohe last year. I couldn’t be happier with her.”

 

Pearl Of Alsace looking for elite-level breakthrough

Trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray have always had plenty of time for Pearl Of Alsace (Tavistock) and they are hoping she can fulfil her Group 1 potential at Ellerslie this weekend. Bred and raced by Sir Peter Vela, the daughter of Tavistock (Montjeu) has come a long way in just 12 starts, winning her first five outings, including the Cuddle Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m), and subsequently added a further two victories to her tally. She placed in the Livamol Classic (Gr 1, 2040m) at Hastings last September, but her connections believe she has an elite-level win in her and are hoping she can do it on Saturday in the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes. “She has only had 12 starts so she is the rookie of the field against the other mares who are pretty experienced,” Ritchie told Trackside NZ. “She is a high-quality mare and is a Group One mare in waiting, and I hope for our sake that it is this weekend. I don’t think we can get her in better order. She has got a great record second-up and she had a nice, soft kill first-up, so she has bounced away and improved off that.”

 

The Grey Goose aiming for another big pay day 

Connections of The Grey Goose (Reliable Man) had a healthy payday when the daughter of Reliable Man (Dalakhani) took out the $200,000 Southern Mile Final (1600m) at Wingatui earlier this month, and they are hoping she is on target for another. The Jo Ann Gordon-trained four-year-old gained a golden ticket into next month’s $350,000 Southern Alps Challenge (1600m) at Riccarton with her last start victory and will head to Riverton on Friday to see if she is up to the mark in the Francolin Stakes (1400m). “She needs to put on a good show before we go to Christchurch,” Gordon said. “If she is disappointing then she will just go to the paddock, you wouldn’t go up there unless you were in with a pretty good show. It looks like it is going to be a Heavy10 at Riverton on Saturday, so that will mean they don’t go quick early, so she should find it easier to keep a bit closer to the field. She seems to run on any track and the wonderful thing she has got is that very good turn of foot. She is as bright as a button and enjoying the rain. I am happy with her going into the race, but it is a step-up in class.”

 

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