Listed Success for Well-Bred Filly Lady Maroal (NZ)

Two Karaka graduates cleared away from the rest of the field to fight out the finish of the $50,000 Listed Staphanos by Deep Impact Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie on Saturday, and it was the blue-blooded Lady Maroal (NZ) (Power) who prevailed for a valuable black-type win. 

Bought for $40,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2020, the emerging filly is a daughter of high-class Group Two Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) winner Lady Dehere (NZ) (Dehere), who is the dam of two other stakes winners and is also a half-sister to three-time Group One winner Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock).

On Saturday Lady Maroal joined that group with big, bold letters on the pedigree page. Ridden by Michael McNab, she went to war with fellow Book 1 graduate Atullibigeal (Street Boss) and prevailed by a head at the end of an exciting duel down the home straight. The rest of the field finished three and a quarter lengths behind the first pair.

Lady Maroal has now had four starts for two wins, along with a commendable fifth in the Group One Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Awapuni at the beginning of this month. She has earned $36,625 in stakes to date.

“She’s a very, very nice filly,” trainer Nigel Tiley said. “I’m very pleased for her – she’s a lovely filly who really deserved that black type.

“She’s always shown us that she was going to be a two-year-old, and she’s just starting to put things together now.

“She buttoned off a little bit when she got to the front in the straight, so she made hard work of it a little bit over the last 100 metres or so, but she’ll learn a lot from that experience.

“She’s going to get out over a bit further in time, although her mother was a very good sprinter and this filly herself has a good turn of foot – it didn’t surprise me when she won over 1200 metres last month.”

Lady Maroal races in the colours of Ron Saunders’ Maroal Bloodstock, who bred her in partnership with Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan.

“The owner’s 94 years old and was on course today,” Tiley said. “It was a great thrill to see him so excited. He’s very keen to have a crack at the $1m Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) next season.”

Runner-up Atullibigeal was offered Leanach Lodge at Karaka 2020, where he failed to meet his $80,000 reserve.

Meanwhile, the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale features a close relative to Lady Maroal. Lot 14 is a filly by Almanzor out of Ruthless Lady (NZ) (Keeper), a stakes-placed mare who is a half-sister to Saturday’s Champagne winner.

Vendor	Carlaw Park
Purchaser	Maroal Bloodstock (Auckland)
Breeding	Power – Lady Dehere
Sale	Lot 36, Karaka 2020 Book 1, $40,000
Bred by	Sir Patrick & Lady Hogan & Maroal Bloodstock