Some mares have a freakish knack for producing fast horses and one of those is Meerlust, who has given us triple Group I winner Duais, plus Group winners Baccarat Baby and Philia with her considerable record improved on Tuesday with a promising new winner at Kembla.
Bivouac will have the favourite for the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes this Saturday in Big Sky and he is also the sire of today’s winner Waerea.
Trained by Brad Widdup and ridden by Tyler Schiller, Wairea was resuming from a spell following two second placings at his only starts last September and October.
Sent off a hot favourite, Waerea was ridden quietly early from a wide gate and was then set alight before the turn to improve quickly around the field to challenge. The three year-old colt responded well, although his fitness nearly gave out at the end of the 1400m contest and he won by a head.
Waerea will take huge benefit from the run and it’s going to be interesting to see where he goes next.
Retained to race by the Irwin and Harris families, who have enjoyed so much success with his siblings, Waerea was foaled and raised at Widden Stud and carries their famous brand.
He is the sixth winner from seven foals to race from Meerlust, who sadly passed away last year and her final foal is a yearling colt by Hellbent.
A minor winner over 1000m by Johannesburg (USA) that was bought from the Inglis Scone Yearling Sale in 2009 for $22,000, Meerlust was hardly an obvious contender to become the blue hen she turned out to be, but she does trace in tail female line to the legend Fanfreluche.
Her first two foals were unremarkable, but then things really took off.
Baccarat Baby is now in the Gilgai Farm broodmare band after they purchased her for $900,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and Duais is with Yulong after they purchased the $4million earner privately in 2023.
Duais produced a colt for Yulong by Pierata last spring and was then covered by him again, while Baccarat Baby has had two colts (2YO and yearling) by Toronado (IRE) for Gilgai, but has slipped and missed in her past two seasons.
The third stakes-winner from Meerlust is Philia, who remains in the ownership of the Irwin and Harris families and resumed from a spell in the Group III VRC Frances Tressady Stakes at Flemington last Saturday finishing sixth.
