Darley sire Lonhro reached another career milestone when Macho Nacho won the McDonalds Maiden Plate (1600m) at Wellington on Monday.  The Peter Nestor trained gelding took Lonhro’s individual winner tally to 100 in Australia this season.  They have won 170 races at an outstanding 57% strike-rate.

Lonhro’s century has been augmented by another 10 off-shore winners in NZ, Singapore, Macau and Malaysia.  His first northern hemisphere winner arrived on June 9 when Danon Perth was successful in the Leipziger Abendpreis (1300m) in Germany.

Lonhro retired to Woodlands Stud in 2004 after garnering Australian Horse of the Year honours and his first winner arrived when Black Minx won at Doomben on December 1, 2007.  He sired just 6 individual winners in his freshman year and that increased to 60 winners in the second-season sires’ premiership for 2008-09.  

His numbers have exploded this season and he is a clear leader on the third-season ladder in the winners and prizemoney category ($7.33 million).  

Lonhro is also running down Exceed And Excel after giving his Darley associate an enormous start early on in their stud careers.  

Lonhro’s overall Australian record is 128 winners at a 64.3% strike.  Exceed And Excel is just ahead with 135 winners at 63.7%.

Lonhro (260) has already overhauled Exceed And Excel (238) for Australian wins and it seems only matter of times before he does likewise in the winners category.

Macho Nacho (3g Lonhro – Nachos by Marscay) was placed four times in Darley’s colours around the Victorian provincials earlier this season.  He was surplus to Peter Snowden’s requirements and has found his right level racing out of Nestor’s Dubbo stable.

Macho Nacho’s dam won in Sydney and is a sister to Moonee Valley G2 winner Burrito.  She is also a half-sister to the dams of G3 winners Posadas (Commands) and Collate (Catbird).

Collate is about to cover his fourth book at Noel and Chris Denning’s Burwood Stud in Queensland