Smart Kiwi 3YO to join Moody Coleman stable

Promising three-year-old Sought After (ex Popular) is to head down a familiar route for Waikato Stud and continue his career in Australia.

The homebred and raced son of Tivaci will cross the Tasman next week to join the Pakenham stable of Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman.

Sought After will be following in the footsteps of the Matamata farm’s star galloper I Wish I Win (ex Make A Wish), who was recently retired following a glittering career.

He was a two-time Group 1 winner, claimed the Golden Eagle (1500m), posted multiple top-flight placings and finished runner-up in The Everest (1200m) to bank more than A$12.5 million.

More modest expectations will be in place with Sought After, who nevertheless has displayed an abundance of talent in his short career.

He posted two wins and a placing in six appearances for Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott and off an interrupted preparation finished a gallant last-start fourth in The NZB Kiwi (1500m).

“He will follow the same pathway and go over to Peter and Katherine for a bit, between Lance and I we looked at things and there’s not many options here in the immediate future,” Mark Chittick said.

“All parties agreed that we would give him the opportunity over there and see whether he measures up.

“He’s lightly raced and it was a shame we weren’t able to get a race into him before The Kiwi because he was competitive, but just a run short.”

An Australian programme has yet to be confirmed, but a return home for next year’s Listed $1 million Aotearoa Classic (1600m) is on the table.

“If we feel that’s a good option for him then he’ll come back to Wexford Stables at the appropriate time and have a go at it on Karaka Millions night,” Chittick said.

Sought After is a son of the Savabeel mare Popular, whose dam is a sister to the ill-fated multiple Group 1 winner and successful sire Sacred Falls and remained in the stud’s ownership due to a pre-sale setback.

“He had a growth on his larynx, and it left some scarring so he was unable to be sold,” Chittick said.

Popular has a two-year-old brother to Sought After and is in foal to the stud’s high-profile young sire Super Seth whose first crop features recent Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m) winner Feroce and Gr.1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) hero Linebacker.

He has also been represented by the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and Karaka Millions (1200m) winner La Dorada (ex Gold Fever) and the farm’s Gr.3 Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m) and Listed Uncle Remus Stakes (1400m) winner Sethito (ex Suavito).

“Super Seth couldn’t be going any better, I would have to get back into the history books, but I don’t think our country has had a stallion that has kicked off his career like it,” Chittick said.