Talented sprinter Oak Hill (NZ) (Per Incanto) resumed from a short winter break with an impressive victory at The Valley over 1000m with connections hoping the win is a pre-cursor to bigger things.
Prepared by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, Oak Hill was originally prepared by the late Mike Moroney and Glen Thompson and maintained his unblemished record since joining his new quarters.
A winner at his first start for the Lindsay Park team in May, Oak Hill was patiently ridden by Blake Shinn to come from last in the small field of five to comfortably run down leader Midwest.
The son of Per Incanto will now follow the path trod by race rival Mornington Glory (Shalaa), who used the early season sprint as a springboard to victory in the Listed Norman Carlyon Stakes (1000m) before usurping the Gr.1 Moir Stakes (1000m), also at The Valley.
“We are very lucky, he came to us in great order from Ballymore Stables, and has not done much wrong since he has arrived and he is quite a straightforward horse,” Ben Hayes said.
“Today what I loved was that he relaxed beautifully, there was a nice genuine tempo and the way he rounded them up was really exciting.
“As a young horse he over-raced a bit, but now he is starting to relax.
“He relaxed today and finished off strongly and beat a small but competitive field. We could not be happier and we are looking forward to the rest of his prep.”
There has been plenty of work behind the scenes to ensure the stable can get the best out of Oak Hill, with the five-year-old notching his seventh victory from just 14 starts, with Blake Shinn fully understanding the brief to get the gelding to settle and let his talent do the rest.
“With a lot of these horses they just mature and then they just get better and better,” Hayes said.
“It is about keeping them in a routine and having a good rider on them, and they learn to relax, that’s what he did today and that’s why we saw such a good turn of foot.
“It was nice to see him win on a soft surface too. It’s very exciting and now it is full steam into the Carlyon and the Moir.
“He only had one jump-out and really good strong gallop going into this, so I think there will be a lot of improvement out of today.”
Oak Hill was bred by German native Wessel Van der Scheer under the Mahoenui Partnership and is by Little Avondale Stud’s outstanding sire Per Incanto out of the High Chaparral mare Isstoora.
That makes Oak Hill a half-brother to Desert Lightning (NZ) (Pride Of Dubai), who has won six races including the Gr.1 TAB Classic (1600m), Gr.2 Avondale Guineas (2100m), Gr.3 Sandown Stakes (1500m) and the $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m).
Oak Hill was presented in Little Avondale’s Book 1 yearling draft at Karaka 2022, where Paul Moroney Bloodstock and Ballymore Stables bought him for $180,000. With Saturday’s victory, Oak Hill advanced his career earnings to A$472,015.