Talented four year-old Peltzer gelding Buccleuch won three races in succession as a winter juvenile culminating with a win in the Listed VRC Taj Rossi, but then he went virtually missing for a year before bouncing back in blazing form this spring.
Trained by Patrick Payne, whose father Paddy Payne Snr sadly passed away on Tuesday, Buccleuch brought some joy to the family when powering to an impressive win at Sandown on Wednesday afternoon in the last race of the day.
Buccleuch was a brilliant winner first up from a spell last month and produced a similar effort over the same course and distance to win the Benchmark 78 event over 1400m by nearly wo lengths as favourite.
Winning rider Billy Egan is the stable rider for Patrick Payne and has also spent plenty of time with Paddy Sr, who died in his sleep at the age of 90.
"Patrick has been very good to me and his whole family has been very welcoming," Egan said after Buccleuch's comfortable win.
"Paddy Sr had an incredible life and he raised an amazing family.
"He had a pretty good sense of humour when I met him and he passed that onto his kids, that's for sure."
Buccleuch has five wins from nine starts with prizemoney topping $311,000 and Billy Egan has ridden him in all of those wins.
The horse holds entries for the Group I ATC Epsom Handicap and Golden Eagle so connections are obviously thinking big!
Bred and retained to race by Sandy Tait, Buccleuch was foaled and raised at Twin Hills Stud and is the second winner from stakes-placed Fastnet Rock import Golden Fastnet (Fr), a half-sister to Group III winner Wind Chimes (GB), who is also at stud in Australia.
Wind Chimes was sold through Inglis Digital last year for $305,000 in foal to Wootton Bassett (GB) to Ben Kwok, who will no doubt take a keen interest in the return to form of Buccleuch.
Golden Fastnet sadly died in 2024 and her last two foals are unnamed youngsters by Hallowed Crown and Prized Icon.
Buccleuch looks a bright prospect for So You Think’s speedy Group II winner Peltzer who stands at Twin Hills this spring at a fee of $11,000.
