Quality filly Sethito produced a timely and satisfying victory for Waikato Stud when she impressively bridged the gap to black type company at Ellerslie.
Bred and raced by Garry Chittick, the three-year-old daughter of resident sire Super Seth added significant performance to her illustrious pedigree when she romped home in Saturday’s Gr.3 Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m).
The addition of blinkers by trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott had the desired result outcome at her previous start at Taupo where she was a runaway maiden winner and the chestnut followed up in style at northern headquarters.
Sethito’s success also boosted the profile of her half-brother by Savabeel, who will be sold by the Matamata nursery during the Book 1 session of the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale.
“It was obviously a fantastic result on every level and extremely satisfying for (father) Garry, he owns her and paid a fair bit of money for the mare,” Mark Chittick said.
“We all paid a fair bit for Super Seth and when you make these investments you have a few challenges on the way through, which we’ve had.
“To see her win like that was just great and absolutely brilliant for Garry, he’s been in the game pretty much his whole life.
“It’s great for him in these latter years to have a filly that looks a top-level racehorse, it certainly put a big smile on his face.”
Sethito is a daughter of the Thorn Park mare Suavito, who won on eight occasions including the Gr.1 Orr Stakes (1400m) and the Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) from Nigel Blackiston’s stable and was subsequently a private purchase.
“I was trying to recall how it came about and I’m pretty sure Nigel rang me out of the blue and said she was going to be sold, Garry walked in the office and I told him and it went from there,” Chittick said.
The farm sold Sethito’s brother last year for $325,000 to John O’Shea Racing and James Bester Bloodstock and have remained in the ownership group of the two-year-old named Stratford.
The younger half-brother by multiple champion sire Savabeel will be offered at Karaka next month as Lot 337.
“To be honest, we’ve had a good type out of the mare and a not so good type, but like Sethito, he’s definitely one of the better ones,” Chittick said.
“She went back to Super Seth this year and went in foal early but unfortunately lost the pregnancy, and we tested her last week and she’s back in foal to him.”
A Group One-winning son of Dundeel, Super Seth has produced a quartet of stakes winners including Linebacker who won last season’s Gr.2 Baillieu Handicap (1400m) and finished runner-up in the Gr.1 Champagne Stakes (1600m).
Sethito, Poetic Champion and Super Photon are other black-type success stories while two-time winner Feroce was second in the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m).
“Super Seth had another good winner (Bollon) in Australia on Sunday and we couldn’t be happier how he’s travelling along, he’s 8.3 per cent stakes winners to runners which is just massive,” Chittick said.