Ocean Park: Derby Prospects

Outside Rock n Pop the first legitimate New Zealand Derby contender may have emerged in the form of Saturday's impressive Ellerslie winner Ocean Park. And the Gary Hennessy trained colt has the pedigree to suggest the Derby distance should hold no fears.

Following a dead heat debut win at Gisborne over 1400m earlier in the month, the Thorn Park colt was allowed to start at 16 to 1 for Saturday's 1500m contest but won like an odds on shot, sprinting impressively from last in the nine horse field of three-year-olds, picking up the hot favourite Joy's World with 100m to go, before drawing away from the Redoute's Choice filly to record a length and a half win.

Sayidda the dam of Ocean Park looked a filly of untapped potential in the early summer of 2003, although  the fact she was by Zabeel, a smashing physical type and trained by Roger James, probably had more to do with her starting favourite for that seasons Avondale Guineas, than two consecutive wins in lower grade events leading into the group two contest. Sadly she badly fractured a cannon bone during the Guineas and initially there were grave fears for her survival let alone a broodmare career.

Nursed back to health by her breeders and owners Trelawney Stud, Sayidda's first mating was to the stud's own shuttle stallion Van Nistelrooy. The resulting filly foal was retained by her breeders and as Ruqqaya, she showed distinct promise in her first campaign as a summer three-year-old, beating Harris Tweed and The Phantom Storm over 2000m at Te Rapa in 2.02, and at one stage held nominations for the New Zealand Derby and Oaks.

Ruqqaya struggled to recapture the same form in two subsequent campaigns and has not started since running unplaced over ground at Rotorua last December. A generously proportioned but most attractive mare, she looks an outstanding broodmare prospect.

Ocean Park, Sayidda's next live foal after her filly the year earlier by Volksraad died, was part of Trelawney's 2010 Karaka Select Sale draft. Why he sold in the second-tier sale is strange, for while Thorn Park was not the force then as he has become, and Sayidda herself is without black-type, he was an outstanding type, fetching $150,000 - the second equal highest price of 29 Thorn Park progeny sold through the top two sessions that year.

Presumably there are tactics at play on behalf of the vendor in selling Sayidda's yearlings, as the mares next foal, a filly by Iffraaj, also found herself in the Select Sale at Karaka this year, selling to clients of her mothers former trainer for $290,000 ,the top price of that session.

The authors yearling catalogue notes on Hip no 675 at the Karaka last year read " lovely mid-sized colt, not heavy with a great head and barrel." My observations on seeing him at Ellerslie on Saturday were that he has developed in proportion but remained very athletic, is still at best medium sized, with the most notable difference being that he has grown a flowing gaskin that allows him marked elasticity with his hind leg stride.

Veyron capped a very good day for his sire Thorn Park when he won the feature race at Ellerslie on Saturday, the Group Three Eagle Technology Stakes at 1600m. The group one successes last season of his daughter The Party Stand at 2000m and his son Jimmy Choux in the New Zealand Derby, lifted the son of Spinning World into the top bracket of our stallion ranks, but significantly also reiterated the ability of an Australian bred sprinting profiled stallion to leave high class middle distance runners when crossed with the stouter local broodmare gene pool.

Sayidda's distaff was responsible for a number of high class performers throughout thr 1980's and 1990's, headed by the likes of Courtza, O'Reilly, Critic and Our Pompeii, however the years since have been rather lean for this old Waikato Stud family. Not for the first time, Zabeel looks to have re invigorated a branch of a once distinguished family.

Given the manner of Saturday's victory, and coming at just his second career start, the future looks very bright for Ocean Park. This author will not be writing a tongue in cheek article again about a son of Thorn Park needing a horse float to run the Derby distance.