Hall of Fame to benefit from high-quality stallion nominations

[Wandering Eyes]

Three stallion service nominations, including one to headlining shuttle sire Satono Aladdin, have been donated for auction at the 2023 New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame Inductee Dinner in Hamilton on Sunday, May 7.

Since the inaugural NZRHOF dinner in 2006, 37 horses from racehorses to stallions and broodmares, and 47 people – including trainers, jockeys, owners, breeders and administrators – have been inducted to the elite list that honours New Zealand’s highest achievers in the thoroughbred sphere.

Another group of 10, comprising six people and four horses, will be inducted in the 2023 draft, the culmination of another period of consultation, consideration, research and finalisation of the list.

While the vast majority of the NZHROF’s processes are conducted on a voluntary basis, the organisation still requires funding, to which various generous donors have responded over what now amounts to almost two decades.

“Thanks to the vision and foresight of determined people from its earliest days, the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame has well and truly established itself,” commented Chairperson Cherry Taylor.

“That inevitably comes at a cost, however we’re extremely fortunate to have the support of generous people who recognise the merits of our Hall of Fame.

“It’s therefore very pleasing to be able to announce that three highly sought-after service nominations have been donated to support the 2023 function. We’re very grateful to the studs and breeders behind Satono Aladdin, Ardrossan and Sword Of State for the nominations that will go up for live auction at the dinner.”

Satono Aladdin, a high-quality galloper in Japan before shuttling from Shadai Farm to Rich Hill Stud, has hit the headlines over recent months as the sire of Pennyweka. Earlier this month the Masterton-trained filly completed the New Zealand Oaks-Australian Oaks double, while his outstanding two-year-old son Tokyo Tycoon was unbeaten in a five-race sequence headed by the Karaka Million and Gr. 1 Sistema Stakes.

Off the back of that and other successes, Satono Aladdin’s service fee has risen from $12,500 in 2022 to $45,000 (plus GST) for the upcoming breeding season.

“The Hall of Fame is a great concept that is future proofing the history of our industry, which I think everyone would agree is very important,” Rich Hill Stud principal John Thompson said when explaining the decision to offer a service nomination to the son of Deep Impact.

“We’re keen to show our support in a tangible way and given the level of demand for Satono Aladdin that we’ve seen lately, I would expect the service nomination will be keenly sought after.”

A ready market is also expected for the two other service nominations, to rapidly emerging Waikato Stud stallion Ardrossan and Cambridge Stud’s two-year-old champion Sword Of State.

Ardrossan, a Group Three-winning and Group One-placed son of champion sire Redoute’s Choice, has made a sensational start to his stud career with two first-crop stakes winners, the most recent of them Loch Katrine in last Saturday’s Listed Champagne Stakes at Pukekohe.

It was announced earlier this week that Ardrossan, whose yearling sale returns include one at A$260,000, will stand this breeding season at $10,000 plus GST.

A 2023 fee is still pending for Sword Of State, the star of the 2020-21 two-year-old crop when winning four of his five starts headed by the Gr. 1 Sistema Stakes. He was also a dual Group-winning three-year-old, beating subsequent champion second season galloper Imperatriz in one and star sprinter Babylon Berlin in the other. In his 2022 debut season at Cambridge Stud, the son of multiple champion sire Snitzel covered 126 mares at a fee of $15,000.

The Hall of Fame Inductee Dinner at Hamilton’s SkyCity is all but sold-out and promises another entertaining night for industry participants. Inductees already announced are champion racemares Verry Elleegant and Melody Belle, champion trainers Paul O’Sullivan and Mike Moroney and champion jockey Opie Bosson.

Two of the remaining five inductees that until now have not been revealed are the champion World War ll era racehorse Beau Vite and jockey Keith Voitre, whose decade-long career set him apart as one of the very best.

Voitre rode his first winner at age 15 in the late 1920s, but was tragically killed in a race fall at Moonee Valley only 10 years later. During his all-too-brief career he became New Zealand’s champion jockey in just his third season of riding and two years later set a record of 123 wins that was to stand for 35 years.

He was unsurprisingly drawn to Australia, where his wins at the 1935 Victorian spring carnival included the Cox Plate, VRC Derby and Oaks and the Melbourne Cup.

Beau Vite’s record of 31 wins from 60 starts between 1938 and 1942 included the 1940 Great Northern Derby, NZ St Leger and Auckland Cup in his homeland. He then added an Australian tally that included two editions of the Cox Plate and LKS Mackinnon Stakes as well as 10 feature races at Randwick.

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