A champion son of the legendary Zabeel has been secured for stud duty by Brighthill Farm.
The four-time Group 1 winner Preferment will be a top-notch addition to Nick and Anne-Marie King’s Waikato operation.
“We’d been on the look-out for a stallion since Azamour, but we were determined to sit it out if necessary to find the right one,” Nick King said. “Preferment fits all our criteria – he was a spectacular racehorse and it’s highly likely that he’s the last Derby-winning son of the great Zabeel.
“He’s a very tidy, athletic type and being a four-time Group One winner says it all. He was a champion Australian stayer and his record, combined with his pedigree, speaks for itself.”
He is by the champion sire of sires Zabeel and has the speed influence of both Flying Spur and Canny Lad on his dam’s side.
Advice from one of the wisest thoroughbred heads in the game also played a part in securing Australia’s champion stayer of the 2015-16 season.
“Last November Sir Patrick Hogan suggested to us that we should try and get Preferment and for him to say that gave us even more confidence,” King said. “There was a broad ownership in Preferment so it’s taken a while to sort it out and some of the owners have bought others out and we will be standing the horse on their behalf.”
Sold through Cambridge Stud’s 2013 Premier Sale draft at Karaka, Chris Waller went to $190,000 to secure the colt.
Preferment showed an early return on that investment for the champion Sydney trainer when he broke his maiden with victory in the G1 VRC Derby and finished runner-up in the G1 Rosehill Guineas.
The following season he won the G2 Hill Stakes and at his next start claimed top honours in the G1 Turnbull Stakes.
In the autumn of 2016, Preferment returned to Flemington to reign supreme in the G1 Australian Cup and then back to Sydney to add the G1 BMW to his imposing record.
A brother to the G3 SA Fillies’ Classic winner Rezoned, Preferment is a son of the Flying Spur mare Better Alternative, who is a half-sister to the G2 Villiers Stakes winner Dances On Waves. It is also the family of the G1 Salinger Stakes winner Ancient Song.
“He’s going to stand at an introductory offer of $12,500 (plus gst),” King said. “That’s a reflection of announcing him at this later stage and obviously we want him to be well-supported.
“New Zealand is the only place for Preferment. The owners wanted him here and they will all be supporting him with mares.
“He’s a truly exciting prospect and we’re delighted to have secured a horse of his outstanding quality.”
PREFERMENT