Rock On Wood is the first Gr1 winner for Redwood winning Saturday’s Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) at Trentham.
Forced to race wide in the early stages, jockey Ryan Elliot allowed Rock On Wood to balance up into the home straight and the six-year-old quickened into the lead 300m out and then held the challenge of the favourite Concert Hall to score by one length with longtime leader Deerfield hanging on for third.
The winner is trained by Leanne Elliot, who shares in the ownership with her mother Jill Ker and sister Yvonne, and whose son Ryan also landed his first Gr.1 win as a jockey.
Rock On Wood has now won eight of his 17 starts after being purchased for $26,000 from the Long Acres Stud draft by Ker at the 2016 Festival Yearling Sale at Karaka.
He is the first Gr1 winner for Redwood (High Chaparral), a Gr.1 winner himself of the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine.
Redwood is the third son of High Chaparral to sire a Gr1 winner after So You Think and Dundeel and follows a successful Danehill trend being out of a mare by Catcher In The Rye (Danehill).
High Chaparral sired Gr1 winners Free Eagle, Youngstar and Charmont out of mares by Danehill as well as Gr1 winners Ace High, and Tivaci out of mares by sons of Danehill.
Redwood is advertised at $8,000 at Westbury Stud in New Zealand and has seven stakes winners with four of them – Rock On Wood, Night’s Watch, Platinum Invador and Romancer – out mares by sons of Danehill.
Rock On Wood is a brother to New Zealand winner Youvebeenlitup, their dam Rock On Rye (Catcher In The Rye) a winner of six races in New Zealand.
The granddam Beldale Blues (Beldale Lear) won five times in New Zealand and finished runner-up in the Gr3 Challenge Stakes at Riccarton as well as four Listed-race placings.
The fourth dam Celerity Girl (Battle-Waggon) is a to Gr.1 Queensland Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Star Of The Knight (Sir Tristram).
A yearling sister to Rock On Wood will be offered in Book 1 at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales at Karaka in January through the draft of Cambria Park.