Racing: Taranaki combo take Classique - more on way

Mark down the name Facet - if history runs true, it is bound to win good races.

Not for a while, mind you, Facet is a yearling, has not been officially named yet and was bought less than 72 hours ago.

Facet is a colt by the first-season sire Keeper from the Rory's Jester mare Enchanted Angel.

He is looking at a fairly tall hill to climb.

He is the 13th horse New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock has bought for farming brothers Ron and Noel Stanley.

Sharrock picked up the Keeper colt at the Karaka sales late on Friday afternoon for $52,500, only one bid over his budget of $50,000.

When the Stanleys and Sharrock settled back to celebrate Wahid's $500,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Classique win on Saturday night, they tallied up their purchases, agreed on 12 and agreed they had all won races.

Being No 13 in that list is almost tempting fate.

Before Wahid there was Grout, a $20,000 purchase who was sold to overseas interests for $1 million, Woburn ($22,000), who might be out of form right now, but who is only one win off earnings of a quarter of a million dollars.

The biggest plus is how good Wahid may become as a 3-year-old next season. He might have won New Zealand's richest juvenile event, but the way he races, he is anything but a natural youngster.

He was noticeably struggling with the early speed on Saturday and victory came his way from the tail of the field only through the remarkable stamina-filled finish he can produce - the one which will carry him to classic success next season.

But Sharrock knows he cannot keep relying on that stamina, it is running Wahid out of his comfort zone.

As a result, the colt will have only one more run this season, the $120,000 Ford Ellerslie Sires Produce Stakes on March 5.

"I just wish it was still a 1400m race, it would suit him just perfectly. But they've decided to drop it back to 1200m and we'll have to live with that.

"With every start this horse has had he's got more dour. When he won his first start he was really sparky, now he drops back and has to be niggled at to keep up.

"I'm really pleased there is a month between this race and the Ellerslie Sires - it will give me a chance to try and put some leg speed back into him."

Sharrock said a big help in trying to freshen him up is that Wahid is a natural athlete who requires little work once he's fit.

"If Wahid can win the Ellerslie Sires, he's got a group one on his CV and he'll have tied up the Ford 2-year-old series - that'll be enough for one season."

Sharrock cannot remember the last time he was this excited about the future prospects of a horse.

"He has unlimited potential. Just look at the way he's finishing his races off and think about 3-year-old races. He could even be a Derby horse."

The Stanleys made their trading money when they took the million dollars for Grout and have no intention of selling Wahid.

They have not even considered the several large offers that have been tabled.

Loosely, Wahid means "the best" in Arabic, and Facet, which will be applied for to name the Keeper colt, is "each of the many sides of a cut stone or jewel ... " in the Oxford Dictionary.

That was also decided upon by the Stanleys over a champagne on Saturday night.

Sharrock is delighted that the Keeper colt is out of a mare by Australian sire Rory's Jester, as is Wahid.

Sydney filly Dower was fractionally crowded when Wahid ducked in sharply with 100m to run on Saturday, but did not have her chances affected.

Her second more than justified the trip to New Zealand.

Third-placed Kindacross was once again badly dealt to by an outside barrier draw.

Hayden Tinsley managed to get him across to the inside rail before the first bend, but he had to sprint the little bloke for 300m and that took its toll.

It was an extremely game effort to hold on for third after the work he had done early.

$500,000 Classique

* Winner Wahid is the 12th winner raced by the Stanley brothers and trained by Allan Sharrock.

* The potential 13th winner is a $52,500 Keeper colt Sharrock bought for the brothers at Friday's Karaka yearling sale.

* Wahid proved far too good on Saturday, despite being unable to match the early speed.