Pedigree of the Week: Rising Force

Approaching 16.3 hands, todays impressive all the way Ruakaka winner Rising Force has certainly been an expensive work in progress for connections. The four-year-old who realised $240,000 at Karaka in 2011 when bought by 1000 Guineas winner Planet Rock's connections, has sensibly been sparingly raced; todays win coming at his sixth career start and his first for the new season.

Taken straight to the front by Danielle Johnston the long striding gelding set up a solid tempo which ultimately saw the winning time come in nearly 2 seconds quicker than the other maiden 1400m on the programme. Favourite Sacred Spin, who had raced outside the leader throughout momentarily looked a threat after straightening for home but Rising Force was drawing away over the concluding stages, going onto record a length victory.

Rising Force is the third foal of the non winning Fusiachi Pegasus mare In Essence, whose best effort in three career starts was a ninth in a Cesnock maiden. The mares first foal, the useful two time winning Fastnet Rock mare Fastnet Lady - who also managed two fourth placings at listed level - has her first foal, a colt by Domesday sell as part of the Oaks Stud's draft at this months Karaka Select Sale.

In Essence's second foal,a Dehere gelding who fetched $210,000 at Karaka in 2010 is a winner at 1600m in Singapore while a Darci Brahma colt from the mare, purchased by David Ellis at Karaka in 2012 for $135,000, has gone to Singapore where he is yet to race.

A strongly put together yearling with a lovely shoulder and hindquarter, Rising Force was well balanced and light on his feet for his size. Understandably he created a lot of interest at Karaka, even despite the fact that he was by an unproven stallion in Dylan Thomas, with Masterton trainer Andrew Campbell, one of the better judges of a yearling in these parts, and acting on behalf of the the same connections for whom he purchased Tavistock and Cauthen, the underbidder on the colt.

Rising Force's distaff traces to the imported Australian taproot mare Great Klaire, a half sister to the hugely influential Eight Carat. Great Klaire has been an outstanding broodmare in her own right with the likes of group one winners Bonanova, Telesto and Fraternity all descendants of the daughter of Great Nephew.

Dylan Thomas (Danehill-Lagnon by Diesis), the sire of Rising Force, did not return to Coolmore's Australian base last year after five successive seasons there. His best local representative by some way is this season's exciting three-year-old gelding Not Listenin'Tome (Dylan Thomas-Flame of Sydney by Encosta De Lago)who largely emerged from nowhere to run second to Zoustar in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic at just his fouth career start.

The son of Danehill whose six group one victories included success in the Prix De Larc De Triomphe has a superior record in the Northern Hemisphere where his progeny include two group one winners, both four-year-old mares, whose wins at the elite level came over 2400m in Germany and 2000m in the USA respectively.

While some of the underbidders on Rising Force as a yearling probably still won't be losing any sleep over todays result, with further strengtening of his already considerable frame and longer distances, connections of the gelding could well stand to recoup a fair bit more of his purchase price than looked conceivable on his five start three-year-old campaign.