3 minute read

Arrowfield Stud products Stepitup, Contentment and Blizzard continue to race with notable success in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Singapore star Stepitup has book-ended the month of October with the first two legs of the Singapore Triple Crown, adding last Sunday’s $500,000 Raffles Cup to his Kranji Mile win on 4 October.

Hope of a Raffles Cup victory seemed forlorn until the very end of the 1800m contest when Stepitup and jockey Michael Rodd found clear air and went after the leader Fastnet Dragon, eventually winning by a half-length.

“He’s only a small horse and is the quietest in the stable, you wouldn’t notice him, but what a motor he has,” said trainer Laurie Laxon.

“He will now go for the Gold Cup and I guess he would get the top weight of 58 or 59kg now, but he will be a big chance.”

The son of Hussonet and Ain't Seen Nothin' was has now won 15 races, 10 of them at domestic Group level, and well over $S2 million for his owner the Tivic Stable.

Bred by Arrowfield and John Leaver, Stepitup was purchased by Cliff Brown for $90,000 at the Melbourne Premier Sale. Ain't Seen Nothin' has a 3YO colt by Starcraft, a yearling filly by All American and a filly foal by Dundeel.

At Sha Tin Contentment, another son of Hussonet, turned in a sub-1.34 time to win the 1600m HK$4 million Sha Tin Trophy (HKG2), showing he's right on target for December's G1 Hong Kong Mile.

A $65,000 John Foote purchase from the Arrowfield consignment at the 2012 Classic Sale, Contentment has now won eight of his 11 starts and the equivalent of $1.7 million for owner Benson Lo Tak Wing.

Contentment's trainer John Size said, “He has always shown me that he was a very good horse, from the first day that he walked into the stable. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I thought he was a good horse before he raced.

“He always did everything correctly – he’s always presented like a good horse.”

Bred by Paul Favretto, Tony & Judy Hodgson, Paul Rowe and David & Peter Sinn, Contentment is from the Commands mare Jemison, also the dam of 3YO and yearling colts by Charge Forward, a 2YO filly by Gio Ponti and a 2015 filly by Animal Kingdom.

Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year Able Friend scored a brilliant victory in the HKG2 Premier Bowl and a quinella by Blizzard and Thewizardofoz in the last race, a Class 2 event over 1400 metres, signed off a big night for Australian-breds.

Thewizardofoz (Redoute's Choice) was impressive at his season debut and first try beyond 1200 metres but Blizzard (Starcraft) was sensational, carrying a kilogram more than his rival, sitting wide for much of the race and rocketing down the centre of the track to win in 1:21.96.

He ran the last 400 metres in 22.26, faster than any other winner on the 10-race program including Able Friend.

A son of the Redoute's Choice mare Stormy Choice, Blizzard was bred by Jonathan Munz's GSA Bloodstock and offered by Arrowfield at the 2013 Melbourne Premier Sale where his trainer Ricky Yiu bought him for $75,000.

He's now won six of his 10 starts and returned HK$5.3 million to his owner, the Infinitude Syndicate.