Stakes Success for $6000 Purchase

Talented two-year-old filly Loch Katrine (NZ) (Ardrossan) dwarfed her $6000 purchase price at Karaka with a valuable victory in Saturday’s $80,000 Listed Staphanos at Novara Park Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Pukekohe.

From three starts, Loch Katrine has now recorded a win, a second and a third, earning $50,960 in stakes for owners Paul Sullivan, Annie Phillips, Dave Paterson and Bruce Browne. She was originally bought for $6000 from the Book 2 draft of SG Stud at Karaka 2022, then was sold again on gavelhouse.com for a mere $1300.

After close and strong-finishing placings in both of her first two starts, Loch Katrine went to a new level with Saturday’s black-type success.

Presented out wide in the home straight by leading jockey Michael McNab, she finished over the top of the Group One-placed favourite To Catch A Thief (U S Navy Flag) and surged clear.

The Matador (NZ) (Darci Brahma) ran on strongly and ate into the winning margin, but Loch Katrine showed no sign of slowing down and remained half a length ahead at the finish line.

“She got through the ground okay, but she’s not very big and is pretty good on a better track, so I made a point of trying to keep her in fresh ground,” McNab said. “I kept her rolling and she was just so tough the last bit.

“I let To Catch A Thief scoot up on my inside at the half-mile, because that wasn’t a spot I wanted, and he took me into the race at the right time.

“She definitely deserved that, so well done to the team.”

Loch Katrine is trained at Matamata by Daniel Miller.

“Very, very gutsy effort,” he said. “I was quite happy coming into today, although it is always a bit of a question mark when they first cop these tracks, but she had trialled well in the wet.

“Going up to the mile, on a nice roomy surface, I thought she should get every chance.

“I got approached by some owners to seek out a horse for them, and I told them to buy this filly off gavelhouse. I said to them today that if we could get some black type with her, then she is looking pretty good.

“It is all still ahead of her, she is lightly raced, and to get her maiden win in Listed company is just a bonus.

“After today, you would think she will get a mile as a three-year-old and probably even further.”

Vendor	SG Stud
Purchaser	Wilko Bloodstock Ltd (Auckland)
Breeding	Ardrossan – Cong’er
Sale	Lot 776, Karaka 2022 Book 2, $6,000
Bred by	Ms C Hosking