Haunui Farm has purchased a 50% interest in English Group 1 colt Showcasing in association with Whitsbury Manor Stud. He will join Don Eduardo (Zabeel), Elusive City (Elusive Quality) and Iffraaj (Zafonic) on Haunui’s 2011 stallion roster.
Showcasing (4c Oasis Dream – Arabesque by Zafonic) was a precocious colt winning his maiden at Yarmouth by three lengths and then jumping several grades to the G2 Gimcrack Stakes at York which he won in juvenile course record time of 1.09.28s.
The Juddmonte homebred finished the year with a tip-top effort in the G1 Middle Park Stakes to be beaten less than a length by Sheikh Hamdan homebred Awzaan.
Resuming at three, Showcasing raced against older horses in the G2 Duke Of York Stakes and was not disgraced when Prime Defender (Bertolini) beat him a half-length. Main Aim, another Juddmonte homebred by Oasis Dream, finished third and Aussie raider Starspangledbanner was fifth.
A hock injury brought his career to a close after just seven starts. “He’s built a lot like his father Oasis Dream,” trainer John Gosden said. “He’s very laid back and was certainly the best Oasis Dream I’ve prepared.”
Oasis Dream has quickly cemented himself as one of Europe’s leading young sires with seven Group 1 winners to date. By Green Desert, he represents a sireline that has already been successful in New Zealand through Volksraad, Cape Cross and Desert Sun.
Showcasing is a half-brother to stakes winner Camacho (Danehill) who has already made a promising start to his stud career siring five stakes performers from his first two crops. Their dam Arabesque was a Pontefract stakes winner and second dam Prophecy (Warning) was a G1 winner of the Cheveley Park Stakes.
“We decided at the beginning of last year that we would like to secure a son of Oasis Dream to stand in New Zealand,” Haunui general manager Mark Chitty said. “It was just a matter of finding the right horse and I think we have done that.
“Showcasing is a typical sprinting type and fits all of the criteria we set when selecting a stallion – performance, pedigree and physique. He is by one of the most exciting stallions in Europe and we have already experienced the success of his damsire Zafonic through Iffraaj.”
Showcasing is currently serving his first book at Whitsbury Manor Stud in Hampshire. He will stand at Haunui Farm in 2011 for a fee of $7,500 + gst. For more information, Australian broodmare owners can contact Mark Chitty, Shannon Taylor or Justine Sclater on + 0011 649 530 8736.