Pariah’s eye-catching first trial winner

There’s a special kind of sweet anxiety that stud people feel when a  stallion’s first two-year-olds begin to appear on racetracks. 

After the excitement of the launch, the first foals, the first yearling sales and the first comments from breakers & trainers an early, impressive trial winner is a very welcome next step in a young sire’s career.

Pariah hit that mark perfectly this week when his son Berava won a 650m trial in Queensland for trainer Natalie McCall, who paid $80,000 for him at the Magic Millions Sale where he was offered by Willow Park Stud.

First trialist, first trial winner for Pariah, and very impressive too! The Fergus Doyle-bred, @natmccallracing-trained Berava (ex Shamrock Slipper by Jet Spur) looks a perfect prospect for the 2022 @mmsnippets 2YO Classic!@jmeharron @anz_news @TDNAusNZ pic.twitter.com/2oAOx3aiti

— Arrowfield Stud (@ArrowfieldStud) September 7, 2021

Equally pleasing were McCall’s comments after Berava’s trial win. 

“He is a really nice little horse and he’s just kept on improving and improving. He’s a real, readymade two-year-old, so we’re pretty happy with him.

“To be honest, he’s a late October foal, nearly a November foal, so we just put him through the system and they normally fall by the wayside and get a bit tired or this and that, but he’s just kept coming on in leaps and bounds.

“He is a really tough little fella, nothing fazes him. He’s very natural, so he hasn’t had to cop a lot of work to get to where he’s at.”

The colt will now take a break and return later in the Spring for a campaign aimed at the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic RL in January.

Bred by Fergus Doyle, who was a member of the James Harron-managed partnership that raced Pariah, Berava is the fifth foal of Magic Millions Sprint winner Shamrock Slipper, from the family of Group 1 winner Wanted and Group 2 winner Shrapnel. His pedigree shows a 3 x 4 double-up of Danehill, and a 5 x 5 repeat of the influential matron Summoned, through her daughters Pampas Fire & True Verdict.

Pariah’s 74 first-crop yearlings sold this year for an across-the-board  average price of almost $94,000 – 4.7 times his initial fee.

His $375,000 top-priced colt ex Real Stolle was bought from Newgate Farm by James Harron and has been named Latvian. He will race from the Anthony & Sam Freedman stable.

Call Me Catherine is the name given to Pariah’s $280,000 top-priced filly, the daughter of Sultry Dreamer bought from Arrowfield by Cambridge Stud. She is in the Sydney stable of Team Hawkes.