Immediate Success for Blue Blooded Burgundy

We are thrilled to see Burgundy's first starter become his first winner (and proud we train his first trials' winner too) - he looks to have an exciting future ahead of him as a stallion.  Bought by David at the Karaka Premier Sale ... here is the good news from The Informant:

Cambridge Stud's rookie stallion Burgundy sired his first winner with his very first runner when Hard Merchandize won at Otaki this week.

Trained and part-owned by Gary Vile, Hard Merchandize won the 1000-metre juvenile event by a comfortable length and a half. The talented gelding will now be aimed at the Karaka Million at Ellerslie in late January.

It was the perfect start for the well-related Burgundy, a half-brother by Redoute's Choice to the top-class racehorse and sire Darci Brahma, who is by Redoute's Choice's sire Danehill.

According to Cambridge Stud's general manager Marcus Corban, the immediate success was exciting but not unexpected.

“It was very good to see him win with his first runner, it was an exciting day for all of us,” he said. “We'd been hearing lots of good talk about his two-year-olds and there had been a couple of nice trials performers, so we had high hopes, but it's always great to see that follow through into race results.

“He's a beautiful, well-bred son of Redoute's Choice and we're pretty excited about his future.”

Burgundy's yearlings have sold up to $105,000, and Corban said the feedback about the youngster stallion's progeny has been overwhelmingly positive.

“We had heard good things about Hard Merchandize, but we've been getting a huge amount of great feedback from other trainers as well,” he said. “He's got another very good book of mares around him this season.

“A really great sign is that a large number of breeders who have sent mares to him in the past have come back to him again this season.”

Burgundy, who stands at a fee of $5,000, comes from one of New Zealand's elite families. His dam is the Group One-winning Zabeel mare Grand Echezeaux, who has produced five winners from seven foals to race. Three of those have performed at stakes level and earned careers at stud - Burgundy, the five-time Group One winner Darci Brahma and the stakes-placed Saperavi.

Grand Echezeaux is a sister to Our Echezeaux, the dam of stakes winners Dolmabache and Pure Elegance. She is also a three-quarter-sister to the top-class racehorse and broodmare Romanee Conti, the dam of Caulfield and Melbourne Cup heroine Ethereal.

Burgundy was bought by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis for $1.3 million at the 2010 Premier Sale at Karaka. Six years earlier, Ellis had paid $1.1 million at the same sale for Darci Brahma.

Burgundy raced just 12 times, but made a big impression with his stylish victories in the Gr. 3 Cambridge Breeders' Stakes and the Listed Mr Tiz Trophy, Flying Handicap, Levin Stakes and Canterbury Stakes. Trained from the Te Akau stable, he also finished third behind Final Touch and Xanadu in the Gr. 1 Telegraph Handicap.

Burgundy also ran third in the Gr. 2 Great Northern Guineas at Ellerslie, which was won by Knight's Tour with the top-class racehorse and fellow freshman sire Ocean Park second. Burgundy filled the same placing behind Ocean Park in the Gr. 3 Wellington Stakes.