Valuable Stakes Win for Out Of The Park (NZ)

Premier Sale and Gavelhouse.com graduate Out Of The Park (NZ) (Ocean Park) greatly enhanced her value with an exciting victory in Saturday’s $80,000 Group 3 Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes.

Bred by Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick, Out Of The Park was a $100,000 purchase at the 2016 Premier Sale and showed promise from the Cambridge stable of Tony Pike.

In November of last year, she was bought on gavelhouse.com for just $14,000 by owners Mike Rennie and Jack Stewart and relocated to the South Island.

Since joining the stable of talented young southern trainer Robert Dennis, Out Of The Park has won four of her six starts, and none more significant than Saturday’s black-type breakthrough.

Ridden by Krishna Mudhoo, the five-year-old was handily positioned before being driven to the front in the home straight. She was joined by Monza Circuito (NZ) (Showcasing) and the strong-finishing Beneficial (NZ) (Highly Recommended), but dug deep and prevailed by half a head in a three-way photo finish.

“I was pretty confident she had held on, although it was desperately close,” Dennis told NZ Racing Desk.

“Because it was such a big race, I didn’t want to go the early crow, but when I heard Matt Cross (commentator) say she had won, I nearly passed out. It is my first black-type win and the same for Krishna, so it is a pretty good feeling to have achieved it.”

Out Of The Park has now had 26 starts for four wins, 11 placings and $108,950 in stakes, with valuable black type on her pedigree page. She has earned $88,500 since moving into the ownership of Rennie and Stewart.

“I’m good friends with Jack and he had seen her on Gavelhouse and asked me about her,” Rennie said.

“She had always shown ability with placings in 10 of 19 starts, so when I happened to see her at Brendon McCullum’s place down the road and saw she was a ripper, I was keen to be part of it.

“Robert (Dennis) has done a great job with her. He’s changed things up and fiddled with a few things and she has really turned the corner.”