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Pictured is Telperion, one of Westbury's resident sires to celebrate the holiday season in winning form.

Photo credit \ Lesley Warwick

Happy Holiday Time for Westbury

Winners flowed freely for Westbury Stud over the holiday weekend with celebrations prompted by homebreds and complimented by success for farm clients.

Resident sire El Roca made his presence felt on New Year’s Day at Te Rapa where his longshot daughter Bea A Roca accounted for her Rating 65 rivals over 1200 metres at Te Rapa at odds of 60-1.

The Gerry Harvey-bred five-year-old has now won three times and co-trainer Briar Weatherley said she was talented, but not always the easiest to follow.

“That was an awesome result and it’s always good to win a race on a big day. She had been working well, but she is a quirky mare.”

Bea A Roca was purchased out of Westbury’s 2019 draft at Karaka for $16,000 and is a daughter of the late Mossman mare Beaver Cove, who was from the family of the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner and sire Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Too Much Caviar added another string to his bow when the Westbury-bred and sold five-year-old successfully stepped up to 2000 metres on New Year’s Eve day at Randwick.

The lightly tried five-year-old had posted four victories and seven placings up to a mile from his previous 16 appearances for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Too Much Caviar coasted along in third place for Regan Bayliss before angling wide on the turn and the New Zealand-bred son of All Too Hard wasn’t to be denied in the run home and scored in style.

“He’s a horse in great form with a lot more to come, there’s plenty of upside to him,” Bott said.

“We went into the race with an open mind the first time up to 2000 metres and a few were intent on leading.

“Regan found a nice spot for him and he switched off and got the job done. He has kept improving each preparation and he’s a very consistent horse.”

Too Much Caviar was purchased out of Westbury’s draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Waterhouse and Blueblood Thoroughbreds for A$85,000 and is a son of the More Than Ready mare More Caviar.

A daughter of two-time Group 1 winner Lotteria, Too More Caviar is from the family of the former Singapore Horse of the Year The Inferno and has a yearling Redwood filly. 

Progressive four-year-old Antino put up an impressive display over 1600 metres at Doomben to further his record to four wins from five appearances.

The Tony Gollan-trained son of Redwood missed the start and settled well back in the field under jockey James Orman.

Antino improved 600 metres from home and, after cornering widest, he let down powerfully under 59kg to give weight and a beating to his Benchmark 75 opposition.

The gelding was bred by the Blossom Trading & Breeding Company and was purchased out of Cheltenham Stables’ New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale draft at Karaka for $27,000 by New Balance Racing.

His dam Mahamaya is a daughter of Bahhare and is a sister to the G1 Captain Cook Stakes winner Hurrah and the Hong Kong stakes winner and Group 1 performer Best Gift.

Reliable Man’s daughter Hail Damage also produced a tenacious winning display over 2200 metres at Hastings.

Trained by Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray, the mare raced in second spot before striding to the front under apprentice rider Tayla Mitchell.

Raced by prominent owner Gerard Petersen and partners, Hail Damage was clear on the turn and the grey staved off all challengers to record the fourth victory of her career.

“She lacks a turn of foot and tends to run at the same speed throughout, but she really suits the female apprentices who can sit on her and let her roll,” Ritchie said.

“It was a lovely ride by Tayla and it is a nice feeling to pick up the race of the day on a Saturday with her.”

Bred by Harvey, she was purchased out of Westbury’s class of 2018 at Karaka by Ritchie for $55,000 and is from the Zabeel mare Betty Blockbuster, a sister to the G1 Thousand Guineas winner Inaflury.

Patience was also rewarded at Hastings where Tommy delivered a fighting performance display to win on debut over 1400 metres.

Prepared by Group 1-winning trainer Phillip Stevens, the four-year-old son of Telperion bounced quickly for rider Lisa Allpress. They were hotly challenged in the run home, but Tommy stuck on grimly to make the perfect start to his career.

Bred by owners Bill and Jane Ewen, he is a son of the Scaredee Cat mare Starry Heights, who is a half-sister to the G3 Manawatu Cup winner Rising Heights and members of the famous Heights family.