Crested Wave: Like a Phoenix

Successful stallions are like ragwort or Winston Peters; they keep popping up long after you have given them up for dead. In the case of Crested Wave, whose passing in 2006 was merely a belated memorial to a commercial career that effectively ended in 1996 when he left Haunui Farm for the South Island, a  posthumous encore performance has come via the progeny of two of his broodmare daughters.

American Grade One winner Unusual Suspect (Unusual Heat - Penpont (NZ) by Crested Wave), 9th and 21st in the last two Melbourne Cups, broke through for his first win on Australian soil when successful in the Listed Werribee Cup on December 16. Unfortunatelyy the nine-year-old entire broke down at his following start in the Listed Bagot Handicap and is currently being advertised for sale as a stallion prospect.

While it was not a stakes performance the win by Don't Dilly Dally (Howbaddouwantit - Plume by Crested Wave) - the ninth and final foal of her multiple group winning mother - over 1600m at Trentham last Saturday held some merit. The five-year-old mare steps up markedly in class this weekend to tackle the Group One Thorndon Mile.

Crested Wave was purchased by a syndicate of New Zealand's leading farms for a reported NZ $1 million and commenced stud duties in 1982 at Haunui Farm in Brookby, South Auckland. A group one winning two-year-old who accomplished little in three seasons of racing after his juvenile year, the son of the little known Crozier immediately proved popular with local breeders, no doubt encouraged by the early stud success of the Canadian sprinter miler One Pound Sterling, which had "broken the ice"so to speak regarding the negative stigma that had existed towards American bred dirt track performers to that time.

In an era of considerable depth in our stallion ranks Crested Wave fashioned an excellent record as his eleven individual group one winners as both a sire and broodmare sire testify. To place in it perspective, Zabeel is the only New Zealand based stallion with progeny at Karaka next week to have sired more group one winners.

Crested Wave's stock excelled at 1600m - six of his progeny won group one contests at the distance - and they were particularly proficient when kept on the fresh side. As types they were generally only of medium build but very athletic and not endowed with too much condition which helped them race well in a fresh state. He left a number of good WFA performers including Cox Plate winner Surfers Paradise, Surface and the enigmatic Drought..

Although sharing the 1990/91 Filly of The Year title with Let's Sgor, Plume was clearly the best three-year-old filly of her year. The Paddy Bussutin trained filly won her first six starts that season, five of those in stakes races including the Group One 1000 Guineas, before tasting defeat at her last run for the season in the New Zealand Oaks, where after sitting three-wide for almost the entire journey, she was run down late by Let's Sgor.

Plume returned at four to win three listed sprints and the competitive Group Two Bluebird Foods Trophy (now the Rich Hill Mile) at Ellerslie. She failed to win in five starts the following season and retired with a record of 12 wins from 22 starts and earnings of $350,000.

Like many top racemares Plume's progeny never managed to attain the same heights on the racetrack as their mother. To a variety of stallions including Zabeel, Pins and Last Tycoon she left nine live foals, five of which have won. Her only stakesperformer to date is Mount Kosciusko (Zabeel), a $450,000 Karaka yearling who was stakesplaced in Adelaide.

Fairdale Stud and partners are breeding from Plume's second last foal, Revere, a two time winning daughter by Fairdale's disappointing former stallion Riveria. Revere's first foal an Ifraaj colt fetched $25,000 at last year's Karaka Select Sale.

The recent performances of Unusual Suspect and Don't Dilly Dally have served as a belated reminder of a stallion whose record at stud probably did not get the accolades it deserved. How fitting it would be if the final foal of one of his best performers could manage black-type success.