These are heady days for John Thompson's Rich Hill Stud, with Proisir likely to end Savabeel's quest for a ninth consecutive Champion New Zealand sire title and Satono Aladdin (JPN) setting a cracking pace atop the leading second-season sire's list.
Proisir is hot property due in no small part to the 3yo filly Prowess, which makes her Australian debut in Saturday’s $600,000 Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens.
Well-known owner Carl Holt put a stamp on Proisir’s popularity when having the final say at $265,000 for a share offered at the Inglis Digital March (Early) Online Sale.
Bred and raced by Tony Falcone, Proisir, as the name suggests, is a son of Coolmore’s Choisir, whose magnificent Royal Ascot double will live forever in racing folklore.
A brother to Aquis Farm’s Group 1 Caulfield Guineas hero Divine Prophet, Proisir is a descendent of the hugely influential Sunbride.
If the 1960s were one big blur, or you love a bit of history, this video from the NZ Racing Hall Of Fame is worth six minutes of your time.
Trained by Gai Waterhouse, Proisir was a top-class 3yo in an exceptional crop, including his stablemate Pierro, Dundeel, Sacred Falls, All Too Hard, and Rebel Dane, who have all made a mark at stud.
Proisir took little time to show he was top-class in a career restricted to seven starts.
Following a maiden success at Hawkesbury in August 2012, Proisir thumped a future Group 1 winner, Norzita, over 1400m at Rosehill Gardens a month later.
Prosir made a statement with a near six-length win in the Group III Spring Stakes at Newcastle, then met defeat for the first time when edged out by Dundeel in a thrilling Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick.
It earned him a shot at the Group 1 WS Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, where he finished midfield behind Ocean Park, All Too Hard and Pierro.
That was some first preparation. The following autumn, Proisir had his nemesis Dundeel behind him in the Group III Hobartville Stakes but had to bow to Pierro and Rebel Dane.
The 2013 Group 1 Randwick Guineas was run at Warwick Farm. It proved to be Proisir’s career finale. The son of Choisir once again played second fiddle to Dundeel, beaten a half-length. Dundeel went on a rampage adding the Rosehill Guineas in a near seven-length romp over Sacred Falls, before a six-length triumph in The ATC Australian Derby with James McDonald standing high in the irons for the final 50 metres.
Proisir came out of the Randwick Guineas with a tendon injury, and despite short stints with Peter Moody and Peter and Paul Snowden, failed to make it back to the track.
The Baker family’s Hallmark Stud bred and offered Prowess for sale at New Zealand Bloodstock's 2021 Book 1 Yearling Sale.
She was a $230,000 purchase for her trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood. That stood as the high mark for Proisir for quite some time before eight yearlings surpassed it this year.
A half-sister to stakes-placed Ajay Tee (Foxwedge), Prowess is the best of four winners from as many to race for the Don Eduardo mare Donna Marie.
Racing on both sides of the Tasman for Mike Moroney, Donna Marie retired a maiden despite placing in five of her 12 starts.
She was a $20,000 purchase for Hallmark Stud when offered by Haunui Farm at the 2014 National Weanling, Broodmare & Mixed Bloodstock Sale at Karaka.
A half-sister to the multiple Singapore stakes winner Onceuponatime (Van Nistelrooy), Donna Marie is a daughter of the high-class Kingdom Bay mare Scarlet Runner, winner of the Group II Sir Tristram Fillies Classic, and fourth behind Savannah Success in the 1999 Vinery Stud Stakes when called the Ansett Australia Stakes.
Prowess arrives in Sydney with four consecutive wins in the Group II Auckland Guineas (1600m), Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m), Group II David and Karyn Ellis Fillies Classic (2000m), and a breakthrough triumph at the highest level in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2050m) at Pukekohe.
With James McDonald suspended, Mark Zahra picks up the plum ride on Prowess in the Vinery.
