Ardy party rolls on with new Hong Kong winner
Sunday at Sha Tin saw James McDonald and Gold Patch kick off the card in winning fashion, combining for a determined victory for trainer Francis Lui and the Patch Syndicate.
Contested over the 1000 metres, the opening event was no gimme, with the Zac Purton-ridden Sparkling Fellow applying strong pressure throughout. However, Gold Patch proved up to the task, edging clear late to give McDonald the early advantage in the McDonald-Purton duel.
Bred by Dame Lowell Goddard, Gold Patch is a three-year-old gelding by Waikato Stud stallion Ardrossan, out of the Per Incanto mare La Donna. He is the mare’s second foal, with La Donna having returned to Ardrossan for five of her six coverings to date, the only exception being Banquo, who recently celebrated his first winner.
Gold Patch was sold by Lilywhites Lodge at the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale for $155,000, before being reoffered at the NZB Ready to Run Sale, where he was purchased by KM Yeung for $250,000.
From just 11 runners in Hong Kong, Ardrossan has now sired eight winners, an impressive strike rate on one of the world’s most competitive stages.
The Corner with Garry Chittick
Well, I got a bit behind last week, with Friday slipping by without realising it; hence no Corner. I have said on too many occasions that negative messages are of no help to anyone, and yet there seems so often a reason to be concerned. Clearly, this week the well-constructed Guerin Report on the threatened downgrade of our Group 1 races demands our attention.
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Vale Ohope Wins, Ocean Park’s tough, kind and courageous daughter
Long before her Oaks double, Ohope Wins’ greatest victory belonged to the Waikato Stud staff and Matamata Veterinary Services vets who saved her as a desperately sick foal. Taken far too soon at Caulfield, her remarkable story is theirs too.
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