Upupaway opened the winning account of Ilala Stud sire Eagle Rise when he shook off Tolawha’s Pride to claim the Sunshine Beach Surf Club 2yo Hcp (1000m) on Sunday.

Upupaway (2g Eagle Rise – Missalami by Advance Australia) is trained locally by Lloyd Brazier and he got under the guard of punters on debut.  The first starter withstood the finishing burst of Tolawha’s Pride who drifted on the winner in the final stages.  The margin was a half-head.

Upupaway is an Ilala homebred and was a $4,000 buy for Brazier at 2008 Gold Coast Magic Millions.  His dam owned a modest pedigree but did win four races in south-east Queensland and over the border at Armidale.

Upupaway is one of 17 foals (and only the second starter) from Eagle Rise’s initial year at stud in 2005.  He raced for a partnership of prominent Melbourne breeders including Rob Crabtree, Peter Woodard and Martin O’Connor but his only win was an on-pace victory in a Bairnsdale maiden beating Rubijon.  The runner-up went on to capture Wangaratta and Ballarat Cups.

Being a son of Danehill gave him a start at stud and his dam Born Western (Western Symphony) was a stakes winner at Caulfield.  She is a half-sister to the Zeditave sprinters The Heavyweight and Zedrich who both won stakes races down the Flemington straight.  Zedrich has developed into a leading sire in Western Australia.

Eagle Rise is one of 10 stallions based at George Fraser’s Ilala Stud.  They will all stand for a $1,100 service fee this year except Honor in War.  The horse who beat Takeover Target on protest is available at $7,700, down from $11,000 last year.