Stud graduate wins in style

17 July 2016

Lightly-tried three-year-old Il Paco looks a horse to follow with confidence after his tidy winning performance at Te Rapa yesterday. An encouraging fourth on debut in the autumn, the chestnut returned in style with a dominant performance.

“I said to Lynsey (Satherley) to sit back and not go with the speedsters and once he was balanced up on the turn he came home really well,” said Margaret Carter, who trains the gelding with her husband Tim. “He hadn’t had a jump-out or a trial so we threw him in at the deep end, but he does have the ability.”

He is a son of the former WS resident Paco Boy and was sold through the farm’s 2013 Weanling Sale draft to Karaka for $7000. Il Paco is out of the No Excuse Needed mare Ididntdoit, a daughter of the stakes winner and Group One performer Rampage Queen.

Pure Alpha delivers again as Ardrossan continues to rise

Ardrossan gelding Pure Alpha led throughout to win by 1.29 lengths at Eagle Farm for owner Ozzie Kheir, taking his earnings past $300,000. The result caps a stellar run for sire Ardrossan, whose yearlings fetched up to $450,000 this year on strong Hong Kong form.

28 August 2026

The Corner with Garry Chittick

It is difficult to maintain momentum when sitting in judgment of racing’s governance. After all, I get no pleasure in searching for non-credible decisions, but one is perpetually bewildered by the rationale behind many of the positions that make little sense.