breednet.com.au

It’s Spring, So Start Thinking High Chaparral

Tara Madgwick - Sunday September 3
When spring is in the air it's always the time to go looking for a High Chaparral (IRE) three year-old on the up.

Trained by Stuart Kendrick, High Chaparral colt Rancho Montoya put his hand up as a spring contender after powering over the opposition in the Class Three Plate over 1615 metres at Doomben on Saturday to win by half a length.

High ChaparralKendrick plans to take the colt to Melbourne and it is likely he will target the Group III MRC Caulfield Classic (2000m) in October, a race which is a traditional Victoria Derby lead-up.

Kendrick had Rancho Montoya in the stable for 14 months before he unleashed him with a runaway win at Ipswich in June when he earned 'One to Watch' status on Breednet, but the Doomben win was his first city triumph after two recent placings in town over unsuitable shorter trips.

Kendrick will wait and see how the colt pulls up but the owners are extremely keen for a Melbourne mission.

"He looks like a stayer, all he wants to do is stay and stay and stay," Kendrick said.

"He loomed up at Doomben today and then really ground it out.

"He is a beautiful looking colt and the further he goes the better he will get."

"There is still a lot of developing he needs to do but it is hard to ignore some of these good Melbourne races."

A $70,000 Magic Millions purchase for Ezybonds No 1 Syndicate from the Baramul stud draft, Rancho Montoya was bred by Gerry Harvey and is a half-brother to Group III winner Bid Spotter.

Rancho Montoya is the ninth winner from 11 foals to race from Sir Tristram (IRE) mare Isolda, who scored a memorable win over Octagonal to win the Group I AJC Champagne Stakes in 1995.

Isolda passed away last year and Rancho Montoya is her last foal.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Oaks Winner Strikes Form at Valley
Quality High Chaparral (IRE) mare Princess Jenni won the Group I SAJC Australasian Oaks last season at just her sixth start and showed she will be a force this spring when capturing the Group II MVRC Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley on Friday night.
Big Payday for High Chaparral's A Man To Match
No black-type but a Group 1 prize for the connections of the High Chaparral (IRE) gelding A Man To Match who not only pocketed the $145,000 winners cheque as the inaugural winner of the $250,000 The Tab Wave (1800m) at the Gold Coast but had it topped off with another $200,000 for being a Magic Millions graduate.
Feature Race Entries Running Today
The spring carnival is rapidly approaching and midweek metro meetings provide a fertile ground for new talent to emerge so let’s take a look at the runners at Warwick Farm and Sandown today that hold feature race entries.
Yulong Head Entries for 2026 G1 Blue Diamond Stakes
The Melbourne Racing Club is pleased to confirm 1,456 nominations have been received for the 2026 edition of the $2 million Group 1 Sportsbet Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), Victoria’s richest premier race for two-year-olds to be run on Saturday 21 February.  
A to Z Victorian Stud Tour – Breednet Goes on the Road
The Victorian breeding industry is on the cusp of something seriously good with arguably the best broodmare band in the country located at Yulong and an exciting new cohort of first season sires poised to ignite – is it any wonder I headed south for my annual stallion parade trip this year.
Farnan Half-Sister Bolts in at Warwick Farm
When a half-sister by Zoustar to Golden Slipper winner Farnan sells for just $250,000 at Inglis Easter you would be entitled to wonder what was wrong with her, but it turns out lack of size does not mean lack of ability.
One to Watch – Ballarat
Ole Kirk and Farnan are two of the hottest young sires in the Hunter Valley and both had a new winner on Tuesday with one of those winners being our ‘One to Watch’.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday August 19
Here is the full list of 32 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Stampede Runs Then Into The Ground in Colin Stephen
Stampede has been out of the winner’s circle since October last year but when the son of High Chaparral (IRE) is gifted an easy run in front, as he did in Saturday’s Group III Colin Stephen Stakes (2400m) at Randwick, he proves very difficult to get by.
G1 York International Delivers Nail Biting Spectacle
Last year the Group I Juddmonte International (1m2 ½ f) at York produced a virtuoso performance from City of Troy (USA), who will be paraded at Coolmore Australia this Sunday and the overnight renewal of the race produced a Pride of Jenni like spectacle before the favourite Ombudsman prevailed to win.