High Chaparral sired the first stakes winner from his second southern crop when lightly raced Hidden Asset was successful in the G2 Classic Hits Championship Stakes at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

Hidden Asset (3g High Chaparral – Fragile Asset by Zabeel) defeated Hot Pursuit (Spartacus) and Yourein (Reset) and will now be set for the G1 New Zealand Derby on March 5.

High Chaparral holds a huge lead in the Australian sires’ premiership this season thanks to the G1 exploits of his first crop stars So You Think, Descarado, Shoot Out and Monaco Consul.

Hidden Asset is the seventh winner for his dam Fragile Asset who was a G3 winner of the Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings.  

Trainer Shaune Ritchie took a shine to him at 2009 NZ Bloodstock Premier yearling sale which isn’t surprising considering Fragile Asset is a half-sister to Bonecrusher.  Ritchie’s father Frank prepared Bonecrusher to 9 Group 1 victories headed by that epic duel with Our Waverley Star in the 1986 Cox Plate.

Ritchie paid $50,000 for Hidden Asset from the Windsor Park draft at Karaka but took six months to fill out the partnership.

“I’ve been looking for yearlings with a connection to Bonecrusher and all his natural attributes for the last 20 years and I haven’t found one remotely like him,” Ritchie told NZPA.  “This one isn’t either, but he’s a real Zabeel style of horse with a lot of potential.

“My grandfather Merv always used to say that if a horse shows promise and has got a pedigree, 9 times out of 10 he’ll deliver for you.  

High Chaparral is back in Ireland after covering 218 mares in his first book at Coolmore Australia.  He originally shuttled to Windsor Park and has 45 yearlings nominated for the 2011 NZ Bloodstock National yearling sales.