Redoute's Choice closes on a century of stakeswinners
The odds on Redoute’s Choice reaching his century of stakeswinners this season have shortened again this week, after results in Germany and New Zealand have taken his lifetime tally to 93.
Pictured: Champion sire Redoute’s Choice, now the sire of 93 stakeswinners, at Arrowfield in 2012. (PHOTO: Bronwen Healy)
Today Sir Patrick & Lady Hogan‘s home-bred 3YO filly Abidewithme made it two-from-two with a determined victory in the Ashburton RC John Grigg S. 1400m LR.
She is the second Redoute’s Choice filly to win this race in the past three years: King’s Rose won it two years ago before winning the NZ 1000 Guineas G1 and the 2011 New Zealand Filly of the Year title.
The manner of Abidewithme’s win today confirmed her trainer Jason Bridgman‘s pre-race opinion that the Guineas distance of 1600 metres will not trouble her.
He told Jeff Dore afterwards, “I’m really chuffed with that and she is a filly going places.
“She has a nomination for both Guineas races and if she comes through the race well then more than likely we will press on to one of those two. The bottom line is how much ability you have, and she has a big motor and has that top gear. Good horses can win at shorter trips and she is going the right way.”
Like four of Redoute’s Choice’s other six New Zealand stakeswinners, Abidewithme is from a daughter of New Zealand’s reigning supersire, Zabeel – in this case, the Group 2 winner Crimson, the last of four black type winners from the grand producer Bourbon Lassie.
Crimson has also been a fine broodmare, already responsible for Group 1-placed stakeswinner Miss Scarlatti and stakes-placed A Fairy’s Kiss among her six winners.
Abidewithme’s success came five days after Redoute’s Choice’s 4YO daughter Shaqira scored by 3 lengths in the Munich Nereide Rennen LR over 2000 metres – her sixth win from 13 starts.
Shaqira is her champion sire’s 5th stakeswinner from only 33 northern hemisphere runners, following Musir (UAE & Turkey), Elzaam, Tazahum (England) & Clianthus (Japan).
Bred by Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum from the stakes-winning Darshaan mare Hammiya, Shaqira is trained by Wolfgang Figge for the Munich Syndicate.
The tally of Redoute’s Choice’s worldwide stakeswinners in the 2012/13 season now stands at six in four countries (Albrecht & Dystopia in Australia; Packing OK in Hong Kong; Pure Elegance & Abidewithme in NZ; and Shaqira in Germany).
Few bets in racing are utterly sure, but the career milestone of 100 stakeswinners is surely within the champion sire’s grasp this season.
