Grangewilliam Stud stallion Thano sired his first winner at Te Aroha on Friday.  The son of Southern Halo broke through with the highly-regarded Wowowow.

Wowowow (NZ) had been expected to win on debut at Te Rapa earlier this month by Cambridge trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young.  Inexperience got the better of him that day but there were no mistakes over 1400 metres at Te Aroha.

Wowowow (3g Thano – On Honeymoon by Spectacular Love) is now expected to head toward Trentham for the Wellington Guineas and victory there would confirm a crack at Riccarton’s Two Thousand Guineas.  However, it is in the autumn that Busuttin expects the chestnut to fully realise his potential with the New Zealand Derby the long-term aim.

Thano retired to Grangewilliam in 2008 off the back of a successful career in his native Argentina where he was a Group 1 winner over 1800 metres and twice placed at Group 2 level.

“When you look at Thano’s pedigree there’s not a lot of two-year-old form but very good three-year-old performance,” Grangewilliam Stud’s Mark Corcoran said.  “They are big, strong horses with great temperaments and are fantastic to handle.  It’s good people are being patient with them and hopefully they will get the rewards.”

By Southern Halo, whose son More Than Ready has been so successful in Australia, Thano’s dam is a half-sister to three top-flight winners and hails from the female family of the USA and Uruguayan Horse of the Year Invasor (Candy Stripes).

THANO