Boom - Burgundy - 1st Stakes' Winner

Te Akau principal David Ellis had reason for celebration on Saturday when Hard Merchandize provided Burgundy (Redoute's Choice - Grand Echezeaux, by Zabeel) with his first stakes' winner.

Ellis purchased the royally bred Burgundy (main picture) as a yearling for $1.3m at the 2010 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Sale, from the draft of Pencarrow Stud, for the Te Akau 2010 Breeding Syndicate, and following five stakes' wins he took up resident stallion duties in 2014 at Cambridge Stud.

Leading first season sire with three individual winners, Burgundy is second equal on the 2YO Sires List with his five runners producing three winners of five races.

Hard Merchandize (2 g Burgundy - Pride and Passion, by Encosta De Lago) was a winner on debut when striking dead ground and showed both his talent and versatility to win the Castletown Stakes (Listed, 1200m) on heavy going.

“It was a huge thrill for Burgundy to sire his first stakes' winner today at Wanganui,” Ellis said.

“Even though he's having great success with his two-year-olds, I think they will be far better at three and I'm picking that he will become a really good sire.

“Pretty much every Burgundy we have in the stable can really gallop and they are very naturally athletic horses.”

Interestingly Ellis had a major influence in the end product; purchasing both the sire and dam of Hard Merchandize.

From the Golden Slipper (Gr. 1, 1200m) winner Calaway Gal (Clang), who lowered the race record to 1:08.8 when winning the A$2.5m feature for two-year-olds in 2002, Pride and Passion was bought by Ellis for $280,000 at the 2010 Magic Millions Sale on the Gold Coast.

Burgundy is a three-quarter-brother to five-time Group One winning racehorse and successful stallion Darci Brahma (Danehill), also bought by Ellis, both stemming from the Australasian Oaks (Group 1, 2000m) winner Grand Echezeaux.