Third Group One Winner For Alamosa

O’Reilly's top class son Alamosa sired his third G1 winner on Saturday when his 4YO son On The Rocks won the Herbie Dykes Stakes at Te Rapa.

On The Rocks (Alamosa x Cold Shoulder by Volksraad) was purchased by agent Paul Moroney for $NZ40,000 at the 2016 NZB National Yearling Sale from the Wellfield Lodge draft and joins Stolen Dance and Kirramosa as the stallion’s G1 winners.

Bred by Bill Gleeson, On The Rocks is the 36th individual G1 winner purchased by the highly respected Moroney, brother of top trans-Tasman trainer Mike Moroney.

On The Rocks is out of the Volksraad mare Cold Shoulder, a half-sister to the Melbourne Cup and Victoria Derby winner Efficient (Zabeel) and the G2 winner and sire Guillotine (Montjeu).

He is the only black-type performer from four winners produced by Cold Shoulder.

On The Rocks is also a dual G2 winner and has earned $NZ432,575, more than 10 times his purchase price, from his five wins in 12 starts.

“He’s a great little horse,” co-trainer Pam Gerard said. “He’s only a little grey thing but he has a huge heart.

“He’s a stable pet and we all love him. He’s still an entire but we’d never really considered the prospect of a stallion career – maybe that could change now.”

Tiptonic, a son of O’Reilly who was a $100,000 purchase at the 2015 Premier Sale, finished second in a repeat of last month’s G2 Rich Hill Mile where he was also beaten by On The Rocks.

On The Rocks was ridden by Jake Bayliss, giving the Australian jockey his second G1 win in New Zealand.

Bargain Ferlax filly Imelda Mary added a second G2 victory to her record when she won the Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies Classic at Te Rapa on Saturday.

Trainer Wayne Hillis paid only $NZ3,500 for Imelda Mary (Ferlax x Eleesha by Encosta De Lago) from the Haunui Farm draft at the 2017 NZB National Yearling Sale at Karaka.

Saturday’s victory was her third in 15 starts an took her career earnings past $NZ168,000.

She also won the G2 Royal Stakes at Ellerslie on January 1 with Saturday’s win giving her the lead in the coveted New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series.

Wayne Hillis named the filly after his mother and he shares in the ownership with Chris Delamore and Ross Robertson.

“This is very, very special,” Hillis said. “Age is catching up with Mum a bit these days, but she loves racing and she’s getting a real kick out of this. It’s a fairytale.

“We hope this fairytale can continue in the New Zealand Oaks. She’ll go to the Lowland Stakes for her lead-up.”

Imelda Mary earned 8 points for Saturday’s win taking her to Filly of the Year tally to 16 points, four clear of long-time leader Media Sensation (I Am Invincible).

Imelda Mary is from the unraced Eleesha, a daughter of a sister to the two-time G1 winner Fashions Afield (Redoute’s Choice).

She is the third Haunui Farm graduate in the past decade to take out the Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic, joining Fix (Iffraaj) and Vavasour (Redoute’s Choice).

The Graham Richardson and Gavin Parker-trained 3YO gelding Sponge Bob won the G2 Waikato Guineas at Te Rapa to provide his sire Keeper with his 35th stakes winner.

Sponge Bob (Keeper x Chihenne by Castledale) beat Arrogant (Ocean Park) by a neck to give Richardson back-to-back wins in the event after he won last year with Xbox (Niagara).