The Payne family celebrated Michelle’s Group 1 triumph aboard Allez Wonder in the Toorak Hcp on Saturday but it will be will business as usual today when brother Paddy saddles up Chaparro in Race 4 at Donald (2.48pm).

Running third on debut at Geelong in September over a mile, Chaparro should relish the step up to 2000m today and prove tough to beat.  Passed in at last year’s NZ Bloodstock Premier yearling sale, he is by Windsor Park’s successful shuttler High Chaparral.  The son of Sadler’s Wells has had an immediate impact in the southern hemisphere with his first crop containing stakes winners Shoot Out, Monaco Consul and So You Think.

Chaparro (3g High Chaparral-Proteaceae by Kaapstad) is from an unraced half sister to dual G1 winning Zabeel gelding Zonda and Magnolia Hall (Noble Bijou), who finished third in both the G1 Melbourne Cup and Metropolitan Handicap.  Proteaceae has already produced four winners from nine foals including stakes placed Hong Kong gallopers Palette Natural (Volksraad) and Win Practitioner (O’Reilly).