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“Thank you for calling Rich Hill Stud. Due to Saturday’s wonderful results our lines are busy. Please hold.”
Rich Hill Stud may well be experiencing a rush of calls about now after their Proisir (Choisir) sired the Howden Insurance Mile (Gr 1,1600) winner Waitak and Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) supplied the Hawkes Bay Guineas (Gr 2, 1400m) winner Magic Carpet.
Proisir is well established as one of the country’s most sought after sires. He has a New Zealand Sire Championship (2023-24) plus 46 stakes performers, 23 of which are stakes winners, to back up that status.
Waitak is one of six to attain an elite-level victory with the Howden Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) his second, adding to his Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) win two seasons ago. He joins the quality mares Levante, Legarto and Prowess as the sire’s multiple Group 1 winners.
Waitak enjoyed a top class autumn earlier this year ending his five-year-old career with a Group 2 double including the Awapuni Gold Cup (Gr 2, 2100m) at Trentham. This latest win could be the forerunner to an even better six-year-old season. Saturday’s mile win was achieved in solid style as he drew the outside barrier. From the 600 metres he improved to be closer but entering the straight jostled with Tuxedo (Tivaci). Leader, gritty mare La Crique (Vadamos), shot to the lead and appeared to have the race in control at the 200 metres. However, Waitak had balanced up and from the 150 metres he ate up La Crique’s advantage and inside the 50 metres had her covered.
For Rich Hill Stud the day rivalled last New Year’s Day at Ellerslie when Satono Aladdin, Vadamos (Monsun) and Proisir provided the winners of three Group 2 races. Saturday’s Howden Mile result marked a Group 1 quinella but La Crique’s sire, Vadamos has not shuttled to New Zealand since 2023.
Waitak’s win takes his earnings to just shy of $1.2 million from seven career wins. He is one of two winners from his dam Repo Bay, a daughter of Rich Hill Stud’s Shocking (Street Cry).
Repo Bay was offered for sale carrying Waitak but was passed in with a reserve of $20,000. Her second foal, Crackercol, is also by Proisir and is a winner while the mare has a yearling filly by Staphanos (Deep Impact). In 2024 she was covered by King Of Comedy (Kingman) but what are the odds that she is back at Rich Hill to visit Proisir again?
Repo Bay’s granddam Star (Danehill) ranks as a half-sister to two stakes winners including the good winner Entrancing (Bright Finish), a Group 2 winner in Perth. The next dam is champion filly Desirable (Without Fear), an outstanding juvenile who won seven races at that age including both the AJC and VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and later scored the Flemington’s Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m), three of her ten wins.

Making an impact

Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) is making quite a mark in Australasia, Magic Carpet being his 12th individual stakes winner. Very surprising is that all of Satono Aladdin’s stakes winners are confined to the southern hemisphere. He has yet to sire a stakes winner in Japan, hence the stud’s promotional material concentrates on that fact despite the stallion getting an abundance of winners (159) from his northern hemisphere stud duties, three of which have achieved black-type.
His standout performer remains dual Group 1 Oaks winner Pennyweka but Magic Carpet has the potential to greatly improve his very promising record. Saturday’s Guineas was just the colt’s third start and he must rate highly with his connections as he lined up in the feature off two third placings at maiden level.
A debut for third on Foxbridge Plate day a month ago was noteworthy but his second start at Taupo saw him lead then headed only to fight back late for another third. For the Guineas he was ridden more patiently and was poised in behind the leaders turning for home. After taking a gap he had a look around as if not knowing quite what to do but soon settled into his work. Over the last 100 metres he smoothed his action and went to the line well. There is plenty to like about the colt, especially when he learns what racing is all about. Trainer Stephen Marsh affirmed as much, commenting: “He is going in the right direction and has plenty to come and go on.”
The colt’s schedule includes a tilt at the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) but will likely return to Te Rapa for the James and Annie Sarten Memorial (Gr 2, 1400m) as his final prep.
The Stephen Marsh-Dylan Johnson team paid handsomely for Magic Carpet, outlaying $320,000 at the 2024 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale. He was a big bold yearling and has clearly furnished. He is one of two winners from the Tavistock (Montjeu) mare From Eden, herself a half-sister to Melbourne Group 2 winner The Fuzz (Danasinga). Another half-sister to From Eden is Songbird (Black Minnaloushe), dam of Thorndon Mile (Gr 1, 16500m) winner Stolen Dance (Alamosa), one of her ten winners.
Magic Carpet’s Listed placed granddam Drama Queen (Prince Of Praise) ranks as a half-sister to triple Group winner Kainui Belle (Kashani) who placed in the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) as well as the New Zealand 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).

Fell in

Little Avondale Stud’s Per Incanto (Street Cry) kept his name in the headlines when his son Evaporate landed the Sandown Stakes (Gr 3, 1500m), falling in to hold on gallantly for his sixth career win.
Rider Blake Shinn was in the unenviable position of being caught three deep early so decided to take matters into his own hands and shot the four-year-old to the front, ensuring a solid pace. It’s a very long way down the Sandown straight and Evaporate was vulnerable all the way to the post, holding on by the skin of his teeth. To his credit, he would not yield and his fighting qualities were rewarded. It was a gutsy effort.
The three-quarter brother to Belluci Babe (Per Incanto) has banked almost $1.6 million and one of his shareholders is Sam Williams of Little Avondale Stud. Per Incanto blends well with this family which traces to the original foundation mare of the Williams family’s Te Parae Stud which morphed into Little Avondale Stud.
In 1941 at Trentham, Sam’s grandmother Nancy sold the property’s first yearling from her mare Haggada (Rabbi), ancestress of Evaporate. Eight generations have passed since then but according to Arion Pedigrees, in the interim Haggada is responsible for some 320 individual winners including 38 stakes winners. The best of five Group 1 winners is Candide (Sound Reason) , winner of the New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) and the New Zealand 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m). Evaporate’s great granddam Sound Lover (Sound Reason) is a sister to Candide.

Metro wins
Evaporate was the sole New Zealand bred at Sandown but in Sydney New Zealand studs provided three of the ten Rosehill winners kicking off proceedings with Meridiana (Preferment) who took her record to two wins (both in town) from five starts.
Meridiana broke her maiden on debut at Kensington in March. She made a big impression that day but the win was not unexpected as she had won two trials leading up to the debut. Next start she was fourth in the South Pacific Classic (Listed, 1400m) then third in the Listed Princess Stakes (1600m) at Eagle Farm. At her last start as a 3YO she failed to handle the heavy conditions for the Gold Coast Bracelet (Listed, 1800m).
Fresh up on Saturday she gave them all a healthy start in the Benchmark 72 over 1300 metres but put in some massive strides over the last 100 metres to score impressively. This mare is going places. Sourced for $3,200 off Gavelhouse, Meridiana has now banked $109,950 and is already a bargain buy.
She is the second winner from North And South (Strategic Image), a ten-times winner who landed the Levin Stakes (Listed, 1200m) and ran third in the Sweynesse Stakes (Gr 3, 1215m). Given that info she really was a steal but good luck to the purchasers for taking the gamble as well as monitoring Gavelhouse.com.
Lightly raced She’s Unusual (Unusual Suspect) scored her biggest win yet, her fifth in just 13 starts, running away to land the Benchmark 88 over 1900 metres.
The now six-year-old mare won on debut at Awapuni two years ago at which time she was sold privately but in the meantime has added wins at Newcastle, Kensington, Randwick and now Rosehill, taking her earnings beyond $300,000.
Letham Stud’s Unusual Suspect (Unusual Heat) has sired winners in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
She’s Unusual is the only foal of La Fille En Jeu (Mettre En Jeu) to race. La Fille En Jeu won nine times including a notable back-to-back double at Riccarton when taking out the South Island Breeders Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) and the Easter Cup (Listed, 1600m). A black-type win for She’s Unusual must be just around the corner.
None covered more ground in the TAB Highway Handicap (1500m) than Poisen Point (Swiss Ace) but the four-year-old stuck to her guns resolutely to pick up her third win in 11 starts. Caught three wide the entire journey she would have been forgiven if she’d folded in the straight. Instead, she got to the front at the 100 metres then braved it out to the line in a tough effort.
The mare is a graduate of Westbury Stud’s draft of the 2023 NZB Ready To Run Sale and was sold for $35,000. Saturday’s win took her earnings to $121,780. Poisen Point’s dam is a half-sister to Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Sofia Rosa (Makfi).