Danehill Dancer colt Irish Rebel (NZ) made the best of starts to his career on Saturday in the NZ Bloodstock 2YO Premier (1100m) at Awapuni.

Irish Rebel (NZ) was an $800,000 purchased by David Ellis from Cambridge Stud at the 2011 Karaka Premier Sale.  “He is a very athletic colt, the ideal type of horse for the Karaka Million,” Ellis said.  “He will be aiming him at the race and we will give him a run right-handed before Ellerslie.”

Irish Rebel (2c Danehill Dancer – Ballycairn by Zabeel) went straight to the lead and was dominant in the straight to win by more than three lengths at Awapuni.  He is currently in sixth place on the Karaka Million Order of Entry.

Trained by Te Akau’s Jason Bridgman, the colt was runner-up in his first trial at Te Teko in September and won his second hit-out at Cambridge last month.  He is a half-brother to the G2 winner Pure Harmony (Stravinsky) and G1 placed Galway Lass (Rhythm).  The latter is the dam of stakes winner Outdo (Exceed and Excel).

Zabeel is the damsire of 82 stakes winners, 16 at Group 1 level including Samantha Miss (Danehill), Darci Brahma (Danehill) and Anacheeva (Anabaa).  He currently heads the Broodmare sires’ premiership in Australia with $6.20 million ahead of Danehill ($5.50 million).

Danehill Dancer has four yearlings in the 2012 NZB Karaka Premier Sale including:

Lot 46.  Half-brother to the stakes placed Left Standing (Stravinsky) from the G3 winning Thunder Gulch mare Anatomy.

Lot 163.  Colt from the Sadler’s Wells mare Distinctly, a daughter of the G1 winner Infamy (Shirley Heights) and a sister to G2 winner Moon Queen.

Catalogues for New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2012 Karaka Yearling Sales (30 January – 5 February) are now available and can be viewed online at www.nzb.co.nz