Victoria's champion first season sire, SQUAMOSA, produced a memorable double on Saturday, including a well deserved victory to highly promising 3YO, Kiwi Ida, in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes over 1200m at Riccarton in New Zealand.
The
Sun Stud Victoria-based stallion also chipped in with a winner on this side of
the Tasman, via the lightly-raced, Sun Quan, who smashed his rivals by over
five lengths at Tatura.
The winner of three as a 2YO including multiple stakes placings, Kiwi Ida was sent out a hot favourite in the Canterbury Belle and didn't disappoint, shifting into top gear over the closing stages.
Bred by Paul Kelly and Sue Miller at their Ponderosa Park at Nathalia in Victoria, Kiwi Ida now has four wins and five placings from 10 starts and is clearly one of the best fillies in New Zealand, carrying the high hopes of trainers John & Karen Parsons since purchasing the filly as a weanling from Ponderosa Park at the 2015 Inglis Great Southern.
Kiwi Ida is out of the Blevic mare, Empress Ida, in turn out of a half sister to multiple Group winning Royal Ida (18 wins).
Sun Quan, meanwhile, a $160,000 at the 2016 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, races out of the Mick Price stables.Having only his fourth race on Saturday, the depth of his performance suggests the youngster isn't far off a city start!
A
half brother to the Group placed Lord of the Valley, Sun Quan is out of the
Bigstone mare, Lady of the Valley and close related to Kiwi Group One winner
Sirstaci and his Group One winning half sister, Nimue.
It certainly augurs well for the Not a Single Doubt stallion, Squamosa, who was a brilliant performer at two and three and, in fact, broke the race record when second in the Group One Golden Rose Stakes.
Not surprisingly, Squamosa is being well supported at his value fee of $6,600 … un-doubt-edly more so after Saturday!
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