Royal Stakes winner Chicharita sold to Segenhoe Stud Tue, 31 Jan 2012

Chicharita, the last start winner of the Gr. 2 Royal Stakes at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day, has been sold to prominent New South Wales breeding concern Segenhoe Stud.

Originally raced by her breeder, Curraghmore Stud principal Gordon Cunningham, the Towkay filly will remain with Ballymore Stables trainers Mike Moroney and Andrew Clarken.

“I would have loved to have continued racing her, but I’m a trader,” said Cunningham at Karaka today. “Andrew and Mike have done a wonderful job developing the filly and the best thing is that she’s staying in the stable, which will allow her to fulfill her potential.”

Chicharita was given a brief let-up following her Royal Stakes victory, her third from six starts, and depending on her progress over the next few days she will resume on Saturday week in either the Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic (2000m) or a restricted grade 1600-metre event on the same Te Rapa programme. Her major target on this side of the Tasman is the New Zealand Oaks at Trentham in mid-March.

“She may not be sufficiently forward for the Sir Tristram and we may have to run her instead at a mile,” Moroney said. “If that was the case we could then look at the weight-for-age 2000 on the last of the last day of the Auckland carnival and then the Oaks a week later.”

In that Ellerslie race, the Gr. 1 New Zealand Stakes, Chicharita would carry 52.5 kilograms. The same race was won by the Moroney-trained three-year-old Xcellent in 2005.