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The well-related Summer Monsoon delivered an expected result when he proved too slick for his rivals at Te Rapa.
The precocious youngster was into stride quickly from an inside gate and he was never headed on route to his maiden success in the Skycity Hamilton Waikato 10th December Package 1000.
“He’s a really nice horse and he’s showed us plenty of speed,” said Stephen Autridge, who trains the well-related colt with Jamie Richards.“I think that was a pretty handy field so it will be interesting to follow the form out of it.”
A son of Stratum, the two-year-old’s grand-dam is a sister to the champion stallion Redoute’s Choice.“He’s got the pedigree and the ability, but we haven’t got any immediate plans for him,” Autridge said.
“We’ll get him home and decide the right path for him to take. Longer term, the race for the colts and geldings at Matamata might be a good one for him.”He was referring to the Gr.2 Reid & Harrison Slipper in February, a race the stable won last year with Heroic Valour.
Summer Monsoon finished runner-up on debut last month and Autridge said the youngster had learned a lot from the outing.“He ran really well at Ruakaka where he did things wrong. With that experience he’s done everything right today and jumping well from gate two and finding the rail won the race for him.”
Debutant Midnight Runner closed well to get within a short neck of Summer Monsoon with the heavily-supported Astor finishing third in her first race day appearance.