Stunning Array of 'Firsts'

The Informant's Richard Edmunds has reported that the win by Stella di Paco in the $50,000 Listed Castletown Stakes on Saturday has delivered a huge number of "firsts" ...

Stella Di Paco broke new ground for her trainers and her sire with a shock win in the Listed John Turkington Forestry Castletown Stakes at Wanganui this afternoon.

The two-year-old filly became the first winner for the new Te Akau training partnership of Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards.

“Wow, first training win for Autridge/Richards team and she's a stakes winner,” Te Akau tweeted. “Stunning result. So proud.”

Stella Di Paco also became the first New Zealand winner for Paco Boy, who shuttled to Waikato Stud for one season in 2011.

The bay filly's connections were expecting an improved performance today after unplaced finishes in her first two starts, but a stakes victory was something few saw coming. She returned a win dividend of $45.30.

“She just wasn't fit enough last time and she had shown great improvement since then,” said Lynley Autridge, the senior training partner's wife. “We were hoping she could run in the money, but this is even better!”

Stella Di Paco broke well and quickly went forward to assume a lead that she never relinquished. She was hounded early by the favoured Massa Lu, and then she was besieged and vulnerable as half a dozen rivals lined up to take a shot at her at the top of the straight.

But Stella Di Paco refused to surrender and defied every challenge, grimly clinging to the lead under the urgings of Johnathon Parkes and holding on to win by a long neck.

“The connections told me not to worry about her form and that she goes quite well,” Parkes said. “She put herself in the race and it was a good, tough win.

“A lot of them had a crack at her but she's been able to fight all of them off. She took a bit of riding, but she just kept on giving.”

Miss Fi took second place with Massa Lu in third. Both are by first season Westbury Stud shuttle stallion Makfi.

The favourite Hover left the starting gates awkwardly and was never able to properly recover, over-racing well back in the field and making little impression in the straight before crossing the line in seventh place.

Stella Di Paco became the fifth stakes winner worldwide for Paco Boy, a son of Desert Style who himself won three times at Group One level. According to Arion Pedigrees statistics his best performers have been Gr. 2 Doncaster Flying Childers Stakes winner Beacon and Gr. 3 Newbury Horris Hill Stakes winner Smaih.

Stella Di Paco is bred and raced by Max Whitby, who Lynley Autridge said would take particular satisfaction from today's result.

“Max is going to be over the moon,” she exclaimed.

Whitby raced the Stephen Autridge-trained A Touch Of Ruby, winner of last year's Gr. 1 Thorndon Mile.

The filly is out of the winning Savabeel mare Savabeel Star, a half-sister to Hawke's Bay Guineas winner Stardane.

Today's win was also the first black-type win as a broodmare sire for the dominant New Zealand sires' premiership leader Savabeel.