gavelhouse graduate Nistelrooy well and truly paid for himself yesterday, breaking maiden ranks at Armidale in what was his sixth start.
The former Team Hawkes galloper was sold on gavelhouse.com
Australia in May this year for $1,700 having failed to fire in his three
Victorian starts.
The four-year-old son of All Too Hard has however produced the goods at his third start for Armidale-based owner and trainer Keith Smith, aided by a gun ride from Cejay Graham in the Gold Maiden Plate over 1300m.
Co-owner Evelyn Johnstone commented "We gave him a good break after purchasing him and have found he has really suited the environment a smaller stable affords and has since thrived."
"We will look to take him through the grades and think he will be competitive over a longer trip."
Smith has three horses on his books at the moment, with all three purchased from gavelhouse.com, Johnstone added "A lot of the horses offered for sale on gavelhouse.com are just looking for an easier racing environment and the key to winning more races is finding out how to keep the horse happy and it looks like Keith has found the key."
Nistelrooy's dam Yolane (Zizou) is a daughter of the outstanding racemare Sky Cuddle (Snippets) and a half-sister to Bjorn Baker's current black-type mare Champagne Cuddles (Not A Single Doubt) with this the family of black-type winners Highly Recommended, Sky Love, Hint, Undeniably and Fast Clip.
Entries for the next gavelhouse.com Australia auction are now open and are close on Monday 1 October at 7pm AEST. Contact Josh or Shona for assistance listing on+61 3 9614 4882 or email info@gavelhouse.com .
