Staunton goes the distance for Redwood
Merrick Staunton, who was working on behalf of Simple Bloodstock Services, snapped up a son of Redwood (High Chaparral) for NZ$130,000 from Westbury Stud - where the stallion stands.
Catalogued as Lot 932, the colt is the third foal out of the three-winning Testa Rossa (Perugino) mare Trista Rossa, who is also the dam of two-year-old winner Mopheus (Snitzel).
The colt's second dam is Listed winner Altrista (Sir Tristram), who is herself a half-sister to Group 3 winner Alinsky (Stravinsky) and Listed-winning pair Capestad (Sir Tristram) and Zalinda (Zabeel).
Staunton said the colt will likely head to Hong Kong: "He is a nice type. We thought he was muscly, strong and precocious, so hopefully he can trial up and be good enough to go up to Hong Kong.
"I bought him for David Price who trades horses to Hong Kong. He buys 50 or 60 a year and puts them through a system. The best ones trial up and go to there.
"He tries to only sell ones up there who will win and hopefully he is going to be one of them.
"He will go to Robert Hickmott in Australia and he will just be broken in and educated, then trialled up."
Staunton said he was not surprised to see the colt realise that fee and said, despite his breeding, he looks to be a ready made sprinter.
"That was the upper end of what we thought he would make," Staunton said. "He's out of a Testa Rossa mare, I know he's by Redwood who is a staying sire, but he looks like a sprinter. He has got the hindquarter power that we look for in those sort of horses."
