His sire Pariah has been on a winning roll of late with stakes-winners Lady in Pink and Ostraka and while three year-old gelding Pantoja has a ways to go to equal the deeds of his famous sibling Giga Kick, he is now a winner after bolting in at Mornington on Friday.
A homebred for Jonathan Munz’s Pinecliff Racing and trained by Clayton Douglas just like Giga Kick, Pantoja even looks a bit like him with his bright chestnut coat and similar white markings.
Third on debut at Bendigo back in May, Pantoja was sent to Sydney with Giga Kick on his Everest campaign and finished fourth in a maiden at Rosehill at the start of the month.
Fitter and wiser for a trip away, he made light work of the 1200m maiden coasting home to win by more than three lengths with Jamie Mott in the saddle.
Pantoja is the eighth winner from 10 foals to race from stakes-placed import Rekindled Applause (GB), who has found fame and fortune as the dam of $12.5million earning multiple Group I winner Giga Kick and as grand-dam of Group I winner and promising young sire Alabama Express.
He appears to be her final foal.
