TASMANIA’S Armidale Stud made a great start to the 2012-13 racing season by breeding the first winner at the Hawkesbury meeting in NSW today with a three-year-old filly named Queenstown that is prepared by Gai Waterhouse for a Star Thoroughbreds syndicate.
It was a Sydney midweek metropolitan meeting being held at Hawkesbury and it was another Waterhouse runner and race favourite that the Armidale-bred filly defeated in a fillies’ maiden over 1200 metres.
Queenstown, by Stratum from the New Zealand-bred mare Regal Heights (x Zabeel), showed good speed to lead and despite being taken on early she proved too strong for her rivals.
Queenstown (Tommy Berry) scored by almost two lengths from her stablemate All Enfield (Red Ransom-Milva) that is a full sister to All American with the Peter Snowden-trained Incrimination over three lengths away third.
Star Thoroughbreds owner Denise Martin said the filly had won a recent trial at Randwick but her race day effort was even more impressive.
“We are absolutely thrilled with this filly’s debut performance and from what she has shown today Gai (Waterhouse) believes she has a very bright future,” Martin said.
Armidale Stud’s proprietor Robyn Whishaw had intended selling Queenstown at the William Inglis sale in Melbourne last year but a mishap in her box forced her withdrawal from the sale.
Instead, Whishaw took her to the Gold Coast for the June Magic Millions sale and that’s where Martin purchased the filly.
“We paid $60,000 for the filly and she has been syndicated to a wonderful group of owners including world renowned equine artist Alistair Simpson,” Martin said.
When searching for a name for the filly Martin said she was keen to find one that had an even mix of Tasmania and New Zealand and came up with Queenstown.