Per Incanto Climbs Premiership Ladder

3 minute read

Street Cry stallion Per Incanto continued his climb up the NZ sire standings with his second Group One winner at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

Santa Monica, a 5YO daughter of the Little Avondale Stud based Per Incanto, won the G1 Railway Handicap to join Dal Cielo as his second winner at the elite level among his 13 stakes winners.

Santa Monica (Per Incanto x Monarch by Volksraad) beat Princess Kereru (Pins) by a neck with a head back to Melody Belle (Commands) third.

Per Incanto, who has 41 pf his progeny catalogued in the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale at Karaka, has sired four stakes winner this season and is currently third on the New Zealand General Sires' premiership.

Santa Monica has now won five of her 28 starts for owners Stuart and Cherie Hope, who joined forces with trainer Stephen Ralph more than a decade ago.

“We formed a partnership which has been 13 years in the making so it hasn’t happened overnight,” Ralph said.

Ralph's father John was a former G1-winning trainer and he was on hand to watch his son win his first G1 race.

Santa Monica’s stablemate Marissa (Fully Fledged) won the final race at Ellerslie to complete a big day for the Ralph stable.

Santa Monica’s winning dam Monarch is a half-sister to the Magic Millions 3YO Trophy winner Jamieson Valley (Desert Prince) while her second dam Balmacara (Bassenthwaite) won eight races including three at stakes level and was also G1-placed.

Alamosa mare On The Rocks headed a Karaka trifecta in the G2 Rich Hill Mile at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

Bought for $40,000 at the 2016 NZB Karaka Select Sale, On The Rocks beat the $100,000 Karaka Premier Sale purchase Tiptronic (O’Reilly) by three-quarters of a length. Third-placed The Mitigator (Master Of Design) was passed in at the 2016 NZB Ready To Run Sale at Karaka.

On The Rocks (Alamosa x Cold Shoulder by Volksraad) was one of New Zealand’s leading three-year-olds last season, winning the G2 Avondale Guineas and Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial and placing in the G2 Auckland Guineas.

Trained by Mike Moroney and Pam Gerard for a large group of owners, On The Rocks has now had 10 starts for four wins, two placings and $190,575 in stakes. He was bought at Karaka by Moroney’s brother Paul from the Wellfield Lodge draft.

On The Rocks is still an entire. Connections will attempt to enhance his value in the G1 Thorndon Mile and G1 Herbie Dyke Stakes in coming weeks.

On The Rocks is one of four winners from the unraced Cold Shoulder, a half sister to Melbourne Cup winner Efficient (Zabeel) and G2 winner Guillotine (Montjeu).

He is among 14 stakes winners by Alamosa including G1 winners Stolen Dance and Kirramosa.

Bargain filly Imelda Mary gave the late Australian Guineas winner Ferlax his first stakes winner when she took out the G2 Royal Strakes at Ellerslie.

Ferlax had his stud career cut short when he died prematurely after a paddock accident at Haunui Farm early in 2017.

Imelda Mary (Ferlax x Eleesha by Encosta De Lago) was purchased for next to nothing as a yearling by trainer Wayne Hillis.

Hillis has Imelda Mary nominated for the New Zealand Oaks at Trentham on March 16 but will start the filly in the Karaka 3YO Million along the way.

The experienced Hillis rated the Royal Stakes among the most satisfying in his training career.

“It’s very special,” Hillis said. This filly is named after my mum, so it’s unbelievable. I’ve been in racing all my life and had some good thrills, but this is right up there.” “

Imelda Mary was purchased for only $NZ3500 from the Haunui Farm draft from the Festival session of the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale by Hillis.

She has now won twice from 13 starts returning $NZ94,350 prize-money.

Imelda Mary is the first foal out of the unraced Eleesha, a daughter of the twice-winning mare Modellista (Redoute’s Choice).

Modellista is a sister to the two-time G1 winner Fashions Afield.

The Royal Stakes was the fifth leg of the prestigious New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year series with Imelda Mary taking the eight points on offer.

The series is currently led by 1000 Guineas winner Media Sensation (I Am Invincible) on 12 points with Imelda Mary, Pinmedown (Pins) and Queen Of Diamonds (Savabeel) tied on eight points.

Savabeel gelding Prince Jabeel won the G3 City Of Auckland Cup at Ellerslie to become the 84th stakes winner by his champion sire.

Trained by Lance Noble and ridden by Ryan Elliott, Prince Jabeel is the third stakes winner from his dam, the Danehill mare J’Adane.