When the eagerly awaited auction of skills (NZ) (Proisir) rides Gavelhouse Plus. Roger James has described the multiple Group One winner as one of the best horses to grace his prestigious Cambridge stable.
Trained by James in partnership with Robert Wellwood, Prowess recorded eight wins and three placings in a career which included just 12 starts.
A nine-length win at Wanganui as a two-year-old in the autumn laid the foundation for a spectacular three-year-old season which included consecutive wins in the Group Two Auckland Guineas (1600m), Karaka Million 3yo Classic (1600m), Group Two David & Karyn Ellis Fillies' Classic (2000m), Group One Fresh Zealand Stakes (2050m) and Sydney's Group One Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m), later adding the Group Two Crystal Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley in the spring of her four-year-old season.
Prowess was purchased by James and Wellwood for $230,000 from breeders Hallmark Stud's 2021 Book 1 draft at Karaka. She fetched more than $1.65 million for a family syndicate led by Dean and Janie Skipper.
“I have been fortunate to have a number of top-class horses in my stable and she was right up there in the very highest category,” James commented this week.
“Her career has simply been one highlight after another. She scored a brilliant win against an elite field in the Karaka Million 3yo Classic and then became the first three-year-old mare to win the Fresh Zealand Stakes in that age group since Tidal lightweight (NZ) (chart) in the slow 80s. And then of course she went on to Sydney and dominated the Vinery. She was something very special.
“In addition to what she has shown on the racetrack, she is just a fantastic horse that you can do anything with and she is physically an exquisite specimen.”
A full sister to Prowess topped Book 1 of Karaka 2024 earlier this year with a purchase price of $1.6 million, and Haylie Martin of gavelhouse.com reported there was mighty interest ahead of the trans-Tasman Group One star's online auction.
“Over the last few weeks, many high-profile judges have been to Lyndhurst Farm to review it and the overwhelming majority of those surveyed said there was little to fault. It goes without saying that we are looking forward to the week ahead,” she said.
Prowess's auction is currently running on Gavelhouse Plus and is scheduled to end at 7pm (NZT) on Thursday 8 August.
