Perfect Fit's Gr.2 Westbury Classic win on Saturday was the ultimate result for Haunui Farm, with the Karaka-based farm not only having bred the winner but also racing her along with the Provincial Club Limited, Garry Madill, Margaret Duncan and James Orton.
The Ken and Bev Kelso-trained mare is now the winner of five of 10 races, having finished no worse than fourth in her other five starts, and is now being aimed at the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes at Te Aroha in early April.
Perfect Fit is out of the top mare Fayreform, which was raced by Haunui Farm, with Garry Madill who has been associated with the stud for over 30 years, and Margaret Duncan, whose late husband Ron was involved in the stud when they were based at Pukekawa in the 60's.
A daughter of the Haunui stallion Tights she was the champion weight-for-age performer in 1998, winning eight races in total including the Gr.1 New Zealand Stakes, Waikato Racing Club International Stakes and the Thorndon Mile at Trentham.
"Perfect Fit was a lovely big physical foal, very athletic, but she was a late November foal with offset knees," said Haunui Farm's Mark Chitty.
"We prepared her for the Ready To Run Sale and she trialled up well, but she was Lot 1 and we didn't feel she would bring what we thought she was worth, so we decided to keep her and take in some partners.
"The Provincial Club is a group of mates that I was at Massey with years ago, James Orton is Mum's brother and Margaret Duncan and Garry Madill have a long association with us."
Perfect Fit is the 42nd stakes winner for the Elusive Quality stallion Elusive City, who stood in New Zealand for seven seasons before he returned to France.
"Our Northern Hemisphere partners made an offer to buy us out and stop him shuttling," said Chitty. "At that stage he hadn't left a Group One winner and we decided to sell him.
"It was only in his last season, the year Perfect Fit was conceived, that he served over 100 mares and in the next season he came out and left three Group One winners, Xanadu, Vespa and Famous Seamus.
"About five or six years ago we put a plan in place to keep a filly out of our best race mares or buy a filly to race," added Chitty.
"Valopolicella (Red Ransom) was one of the first that we kept and she won the Gr.3 Manawatu Classic. She has gone on to leave the stakes winners Vilanova (Commands) and Vavasour (Redoute's Choice) and we have retained her yearling filly by Ocean Park.
"We have bought and raced a couple like Full of Spirit (Flying Spur) — a Group One performer, and the dual Listed winner Misstrum (Stratum) and have added them to our broodmare band."
"It is important the way the game is going that we develop those black type mares as they are so hard to acquire off the racetrack with the international players that are now in the market. It's so easy to get left behind, but for now the plan is working well, we are having a lot of fun on the way and achieving the ultimate in breeding a black type winner." – NZTBA
The Ken and Bev Kelso-trained mare is now the winner of five of 10 races, having finished no worse than fourth in her other five starts, and is now being aimed at the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes at Te Aroha in early April.
Perfect Fit is out of the top mare Fayreform, which was raced by Haunui Farm, with Garry Madill who has been associated with the stud for over 30 years, and Margaret Duncan, whose late husband Ron was involved in the stud when they were based at Pukekawa in the 60's.
A daughter of the Haunui stallion Tights she was the champion weight-for-age performer in 1998, winning eight races in total including the Gr.1 New Zealand Stakes, Waikato Racing Club International Stakes and the Thorndon Mile at Trentham.
"Perfect Fit was a lovely big physical foal, very athletic, but she was a late November foal with offset knees," said Haunui Farm's Mark Chitty.
"We prepared her for the Ready To Run Sale and she trialled up well, but she was Lot 1 and we didn't feel she would bring what we thought she was worth, so we decided to keep her and take in some partners.
"The Provincial Club is a group of mates that I was at Massey with years ago, James Orton is Mum's brother and Margaret Duncan and Garry Madill have a long association with us."
Perfect Fit is the 42nd stakes winner for the Elusive Quality stallion Elusive City, who stood in New Zealand for seven seasons before he returned to France.
"Our Northern Hemisphere partners made an offer to buy us out and stop him shuttling," said Chitty. "At that stage he hadn't left a Group One winner and we decided to sell him.
"It was only in his last season, the year Perfect Fit was conceived, that he served over 100 mares and in the next season he came out and left three Group One winners, Xanadu, Vespa and Famous Seamus.
"About five or six years ago we put a plan in place to keep a filly out of our best race mares or buy a filly to race," added Chitty.
"Valopolicella (Red Ransom) was one of the first that we kept and she won the Gr.3 Manawatu Classic. She has gone on to leave the stakes winners Vilanova (Commands) and Vavasour (Redoute's Choice) and we have retained her yearling filly by Ocean Park.
"We have bought and raced a couple like Full of Spirit (Flying Spur) — a Group One performer, and the dual Listed winner Misstrum (Stratum) and have added them to our broodmare band."
"It is important the way the game is going that we develop those black type mares as they are so hard to acquire off the racetrack with the international players that are now in the market. It's so easy to get left behind, but for now the plan is working well, we are having a lot of fun on the way and achieving the ultimate in breeding a black type winner." – NZTBA