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Sport Nation
Classic winner continuing top family trend
Paul Vettise, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • February 11th, 2025 2:30 pm
Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Progressive four-year-old Risque Ruler is the latest success story for a Windsor Park Stud family that for decades has been a constant source of stakes winners.
The lightly raced daughter of Mongolian Khan won for the third time in her eight-start career when she powered home from last to claim the $350,000 Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic (1600m) at Te Rapa last Saturday.
Risque Ruler is also furthering the strong partnership the nursery has with New Plymouth trainer Janelle Millar.
“We own the mare and lease her to Janelle, we’ve had a long association with Janelle and she’s always done a very good job,” Windsor Park General Manager Steve Till said.
“She leased the good mare Zola Express from us a few years ago.”
By Shamepress, Zola Express won six races including the Gr.2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2000m) and the Listed Wanganui Cup (2040m) and placed in the Gr.3 Taranaki Cup (1800m) on two occasions.
“Janelle comes up annually and has a look in the paddocks and picked out Risque Ruler and it’s gone from there,” Till said.
Risque Ruler is a daughter of the Volksraad mare Risque Business, twice successful in Australia and a half-sister to the Gr.3 Stewards’ Handicap (1200m) winner and Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Stakes (1600m) placegetter Soubrettes.
“It’s a family we’ve had ever since I’ve been here at Windsor Park and before when it was at Ngaruawahia and Bob Cheak had the family including Crestello,” Till said.
“Crestello was a Broodmare of the Year and the dam of top horses Silver Nymph, Silver Wraith and Silverello.
“Another of Crestello’s daughters was Satirical, a Kaapstad mare we owned and bred Star Satire (Gr.1 Otaki Maori WFA, 1600m), who was a topliner a few years ago.
“She subsequently bred on in Australia and the most recent good horse from the family is I Am Unstoppable, a two-year-old stakes winner and second in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr.1, 1200m).”
Risque Business has produced a quartet of winners including the Windsor Park-raced Turn Me Loose mare It’s Business Time.
She won six of her 10 starts and finished runner-up in the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) for trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson and is now resident at Te Akau’s Cranbourne stable.
“She went to Australia and has had a couple of training setbacks, which meant she was off the scene for a while and recently resumed,” Till said.
“We’re hoping for a good autumn with her, she’s certainly very talented.”
Windsor Park sold a Circus Maximus filly, She Means Business, to Te Akau for $150,000 at the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale and Champagne Racing bought her sister for $100,000 at Karaka this year.
“She’s got a colt foal by Satono Aladdin and then she went to Paddington,” Till said.
“It’s a very fast family with a tremendous amount of talent and Risque Ruler is no different.
“She’s one that gets out of her ground a bit, that seems to be her pattern and in her last four races she’s run the fastest last four sectionals each time. She’s got an exceptional turn of foot.
“Realistically, she’s still a year away and still maturing and strengthening. She probably still has her best years ahead of her.”
