Racing in top company throughout his
career, Palentino won the Group One Australian Guineas at three and Group One
Makybe Diva Stakes last spring - becoming the only horse apart from legendary
sire, Zabeel, to achieve the double.Palentino then capped it all off with a brilliant victory in the Group Two Blamey Stakes last month, defeating the highly rated Tosen Stardom.
Champion trainer, Darren Weir, was full of praise for the horse he first saw as a yearling.
"He is just such a striking individual," Weir said.
"From the moment I laid eyes on him he impressed me: a great temperament and he just kept rising to the occasion.
"I'm sorry to see him go (from the stables) but I believe he'll make a huge impact at Sun Stud.
" Leading jockey, Mark Zahra is another huge fan of the flashy chestnut: "He had an explosive turn of foot.
And you only have to look at the quality of his wins.
It takes a very good horse to win over the mile at Flemington and he won two Group Ones and two other black type races there.
"What's more, you only have to look at some of the horses he beat … Black Heart Bart was at the top of his game when Palentino beat him in the Makybe Diva, and he put Tosen Stardom away very quickly in the Blamey.
" A fee for Palentino will be announced in the coming weeks, but Sun Stud's Danielle Cheng is excited about the four-year-old's introduction to the stallion ranks.
"I'm very happy to be making this announcement because a lot of people have already been ringing and asking when he was going to stud.
"Palentino was a high quality racehorse and the fact he emulated Zabeel in winning the Australian Guineas and Makybe Diva should not be understated.
" For further information, phone Phil Marshall on 0407 853 782 or Adam Henry on 0428 036 472.
