West Indies has a rich pedigree to live up to and the three-year-old has made a promising start.The Ciaron Maher-trained representative followed up a promising effort for fourth on debut at Hawkesbury with his maiden victory at Kembla Grange.The son of Fastnet Rock was opposed by three rivals over 1400 metres, but he can only beat what’s in front of him and he did that in gallant fashion in the hands of apprentice Zac Wadick.West Indies cleared the gates well to set a leisurely pace and he dug deep in the run home when under siege to open his winning account.“He’s a well-bred horse who will certainly appreciate further in trip and hopefully he’ll measure up to city class,” stable representative Liam Ruddy said.We bred West Indies with the Fastnet Rock Syndicate and he was a popular youngster when offered at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale where he was knocked down to Maher and Astute Bloodstock for A$520,000.He is out of the Irish-bred Galileo mare Anchovy, whose first foal Sailing Away has been a winner for Te Akau, and her Almanzor colt was secured on the Gold Coast earlier this year by Dynamic Syndications and Dean Watt Bloodstock for A$125,000.Anchovy, who had a colt by Hello Youmzain last season before a return visit, is out of a stakes-performed half-sister to the Group 1 winners and sires Duke Of Marmalade and Ruler Of The World.

What You Wish For faced two significant hurdles at Matamata and our homebred overcame them with aplomb on his home track.The son of Embellish was lumped with 60.5kg and the outside gate, but the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained representative took it all in his ample stride to post an impressive victory.What You Wish For was a $60,000 purchase by David Ellis out of our 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale draft and the following year the Te Akau chief bought his half-sister by Savabeel, Wish Come True, for $190,000.They are out of the Smart Missile mare Grand Wish, who is a half-sister to the G1 Galaxy Handicap winner Griante and the family of the G1 WATC Derby winner Grand Journey.Grand Wish had a colt by Sword Of State last season and is due to foal again to Embellish.What You Wish For has now won four of his 14 starts and also placed last season in the Group 2 Waikato Guineas.In his latest success, rider Opie Bosson allowed him to drift back to last from the wide alley before picking up ground near the turn.They were into the clear 250 metres from home and What You Wish For let down strongly to carry favourite backers through.

A career-best year for Here To Shock continued with a third Group victory in Friday’s A$250,000 Gr.3 Australian Bloodstock Cameron Handicap (1600m) at Newcastle, and in the process the New Zealand-bred gelding booked himself a ticket into a A$3 million feature in November.The son of Shocking came into 2024 with seven wins to his name from a 25-start career, with his solitary black-type success coming in last year’s Listed Golden Mile (1600m) at Bendigo. He has taken that record to a new level over the last six months with big wins in the Gr.3 Victoria Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield, the Gr.3 BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben and Friday’s Newcastle feature.Here To Shock was sent out as a $3 favourite on Friday and was prominently positioned throughout the race, settling in second on the outside of Matcha Latte.Here To Shock pounced at the top of the straight and gradually got the better of Matcha Latte, edging ahead to win by half a length with Nash Rawiller in the saddle.Trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes are now working backwards from the A$3 million The Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick on November 5.“We’re thrilled and very excited,” Ben Hayes said. “He’s now qualified for The Big Dance. Dom Rhoden, our racing manager, alerted us that today’s race was a qualifier for that. Now he’s qualified, and hopefully we’ll be heading in that direction from here.“It’s going to be a great race for him, a great opportunity and a great incentive. It’s exciting.“Nash is a hard jockey to beat in a tight finish, and he gave the horse a great ride today. We normally canter this horse on race morning, so I was a bit worried he might over-race today. But he relaxed beautifully for Nash, who nursed him and then the horse gave a great kick.”Here To Shock has now had 32 starts for 10 wins, seven placings and A$1,053,580 in prize-money.Rob Slade went to $70,000 to purchase the then colt out of the Lonhro mare Frescoes from the 2019 Cambridge Stud yearling draft at the Book 1 Sale at Karaka. Bred by The Sunlight Trust, Here To Shock is a half-brother to Listed winner Turn The Ace. – NZ Racing Desk.