Beats a Berocca

Where is a good cup of coffee when you need it? Certainly not in Tahuna at 9am on a Sunday morning.

Devoid of sleep (blame the AB's and Mr Cuervo) I was beginning to question the trip in favour of a lie in and a cooked breakfast in the Village.

Thankfully a sense of direction is one of my few virtues, for although it must have been close on 20 years - it was known as Evergreen Lodge then - I managed to find Rich Hill in the early morning mist and drizzle.

Maybe it's the setting in the rolling hills that makes the very aptly named Rich Hill a little different. Most NZ studs I ve visited are pretty flat but contours have meant this place is set out a little differently and it works; from the paddock overlooking the farm gates with mares and their days old foals, to the grassy pitched stallion yards.

I was particularly looking forward to seeing the farms latest recruit, the English Derby winning three-year-old Sir Percy. I guess it had something to do with a friend having booked a mare into his court and taking criticism from a few people including yours truly, plus despite the malignment of winners of Derbies these days, you still rarely get to see the winners of such prestigious races in these parts and from good "old" English stock to boot, rather than that "common" line our friends across the ditch are so enamoured with.

He did not disappoint.

I remember reading an article once on a leading agent, an English chap I think he was. Starting out in the business he had recommended a mating to a client based on a stallion he had only seen in photos. The stallion was in fact very different in the flesh and did not suit the mare on physical compatibility and the result was not pretty. From then on, despite the horrendous gas and motel bills, he made a point of getting to some far flung posts around GB to physically inspect every new commercial stallion.

The photos I had seen of Sir Percy where of a washy bay, almost a little coarse and weak.

Actually he's a rather elegant horse of a rather rich bay clouring. A typical miler on type, he's of medium size and bone with good balance and a deep strong symetrical shoulder (a physical trait of his father Mark of Esteem) which is probably where he would have got that muscular wind up acceleration he displayed in most of his victories.

Probably the clincher for me was a lovely intelligent head and eye. Stood up in front of me for a time, I 'm sure he was looking me over, thinking, serves you right you silly old b...... for thinking you still a teenager and staying up half the night.

Slightly bigger than I had imagined, Pentire is your typical classic English thoroughbred and while some of those refined features, particularly around the girth (sounds all too familiar) after 12 odd years of Matamata grass are a little harder to disseminate, I don't imagine Pentire would have carried a lot of condition as a racehorse rather living on the nervous energy he displayed while paraded today.

A little short in front Pentire is possessed of a longish barrel which is offset by a good gaskin and hind quarters.

I was lucky enough to see Lion Hunter one day early in his racing career and had thought to myself then what a gorgeously made horse. Sure there was the dapled grey coat which is enough to make any horse lover weak at the knees but he had esquisite balance coupled with a beautiful way of moving.

Any Suggestion didnt take my breath away like dad but it's easy to see why breeders rushed to him last season with over 130 mares. It's no Banjo Paterson or even Tony Morris but "big" is the first word that comes to my mind after seeing him.

But he's not coarse at all, there's good balance, a big overstride, a pronounced wither and a lot of athleticisim. It's going to be fascinating to see what size yearling he leaves.

Before today I wasn't so sure about Sir Percy, the pedigree worried me slightly and despite been impressed with his race performances on DVD his photos were hardly inspiring.

Revigorated by my morning (and some Warehouse Songs and Stories) the question I kept asking myself as I headed home was is he going to be another English Derby winner to flop as a sire joining the ranks of Oath, High Rise, Benny the Dip, Erhaab and Shammit just some winners since 1990 who have been major disappointments in the breeding shed.

The critical difference is that Sir Percy had the speed to win a Grp 1 as a two-year-old. And no it wasn't a 1600m 4 runner slog in the Curragh mud but consistently the most competitive two-year-old race in Europe, the Dewhurst at 1400, where he beat the high class and subsequently ill fated Horatio Nelson.

And when you look at some of the more recent Derby winners who have gone onto become leading sires it is that 2 year-old speed that differentiates them from their contemparies.

Galileo, High Chaperal and Generous spring to mind from more recent times. Yes I can already hear someone demand of me to mention Dr Devious or Dr Who as I once saw him described. He didn't set the Ganges let alone the Thames on fire as a stallion. And Michael Phelps brother drowned in the bath...

Which got me thinking about pedigree. Did he outrun his? I'll save this for a rainy day for I have chores to do before the working week. Suffice I think it's a better pedigree than it looks on paper which is probably symptomatic of how insulated we have become down under over a couple of sire lines but thats a whole topic in itself.

Regardless of how he fares, hats off to John Thompson and the team for having the nous and kahunas to bring Sir Percy to our shores. We need more English Classic horses to revigorate our breed especially those blessed with his mile speed and type. Remember most were put off Pentire 12 odd years ago for reasons of his pedigree.