New Group 1 Winner for NZ Ready to Run

Less than one year after being purchased from New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale, Atlante (Fastnet Rock) is the Sale’s newest Group 1 winner after a decisive all-the-way victory in the $400,000 SOTHYS 41st New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday.

Atlante wins the Group 1 SOTHYS 41st New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton.

Trained by the Murray Baker/Anderw Forsman partnership, the son of Fastnet Rock started the race as favourite following his last start victory on the same course two weeks prior in similar fashion, leading from start to finish.

Jumping from barrier three, Atlante worked to the lead easily for Opie Bosson and was able to dictate the pace of the race to his liking from there.

As the field entered the straight on a Good 3 track at Riccarton, Atlante appeared to be headed, first by Sacred Park (NZ) (Thorn Park) and then by Chambord (NZ) (Zabeel), as he hung outwards in the straight.

The three-year-old colt rallied bravely and wrangled the lead back from Karaka graduate Chambord and drew away again at the line to win by three-quarters of a length from Chambord with another Karaka graduate Gobi Ranger (Tale of the Cat) running into third a further half length behind.

 “He is a good, tough colt and a very relaxed horse,” commented Baker. “We thought if he didn’t hang he would be very hard to beat, but he did hang and he still won.

“He was an outstanding type when I saw him at the Ready to Run Sale last year. He won a two-year-old autumn trial and then he went shin sore but we thought he was a very promising horse from day one.

“We had him nominated for the Caulfield Guineas but we just couldn’t get him going on the wet tracks. The mile was not a problem, I hope he will get further and we may take him to Australia in the autumn.”

It was the third win from five starts for Atlante who finished third on debut behind the promising El Roca (Fastnet Rock) before failing to handle a Heavy 11 track at Hastings. He has strung together three successive wins now and has earned $283,175 in prizemoney.

He is part-owned by Lyndhurst Farm’s Mark and Shelley Treweek, who prepared the horse for the 2012 Ready to Run Sale, and share in the ownership with JML Bloodstock and Ms R Phillippo. Atlante was bought by Bruce Perry Bloodstock at last year’s Sale from Lyndhurst Farm for $200,000.

Bred by Reavill Farm Management, the son of Australia’s hottest sire Fastnet Rock is out of the stakes placed mare Readyforcatherine (More Than Ready) and holds strong potential residual value as a sire now being a Group 1 winner.

The 2013 edition of the Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs is nearly upon us with the Sale to commence on 19 & 20 November. Fastnet Rock has provided the top price at the Sale for the last two years in a row and has two candidates for the honour this year in Lot 295 and Lot 323.

The 2013 Ready to Run Sale catalogue and Breeze Up clips can be viewed online and on the free iPad application now. DVD copies (for PC and TV) can still be ordered by contacting [email protected].