Any questions that lingered after Whiskey Neat’s 10-length debut win were answered when the son of Denman stepped up to Stakes grade in Tuesday’s G3 Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie.
Whiskey Neat got his career off to a brilliant start with his win in a two-year-old event at Otaki last month and although he had only a length to spare at Ellerslie, he was no less impressive.
Taken straight to the front by jockey Leith Innes, Whiskey Neat responded gamely when challenged and was doing his best on the line to beat Aotea Lad and Exuberant.
The win earned the colt nominal favouritism in New Zealand’s richest juvenile race the Karaka Millions later this month.
Whiskey Neat sold as a weanling in Australia for A$72,500 and again as a yearling at Karaka last year for NZ$220,000.
The youngster is out of the winning Viscount mare Ouija, who was bred and raced by Sheikh Mohammed and Whiskey Neat is her third winner from three foals to race.
Ouija is out of Seances whose eight winners from 10 to race include the recent city-class winners Roosevelt and Haunted as well as the Stakes winners Sessions and Rennaissance, who have all carried Sheikh Mohammed’s colours.
Whiskey Neat ranks among the best of Denman’s 13 Stakes winners, who include the high-class Hong Kong Stakes winner Hot King Prawn.
Denman stood the most recent southern hemisphere season at Kelvinside, NSW.
