Surf’s up for stud’s multiple Sydney winner

A change of environment is having the desired effect on the well-related Bullrush. The Waikato Stud-bred and raced half-brother by O’Reilly to the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes winner Sports Illustrated has returned home from Sydney to continue his career with Moira and Kieran Murdoch.

Bullrush was unbeaten in his first five starts from the Rosehill stable of John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes. The six-year-old placed once in five subsequent outings and hasn’t raced since he finished fifth in the Listed Abell Stakes at Moonee Valley.

“He’s been here since May and we’re very pleased with him, he’s a magnificent-looking horse,” Moira Murdoch said. “It’s something different for him here at the beach, it’s helping his mental attitude. “He’s well and we’ve been waiting for the weather to dry up. We’re hoping to give him a trial at Cambridge on Thursday.”

Bullrush is a son of the Pins mare Pin Up, who won three races before her retirement. She is a half-sister to the Matamata farm’s Australasian and European Group One winner Starcraft.