Almanzor’s exciting son Nucleozor has effortlessly added Riccarton black type to his faultless record.The undefeated two-year-old again emphasised his abundant talent and also his versatility when he turned the Listed Welcome Stakes over 1000 metres into a procession.Successful on good tracks in his first two appearances, the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson representative mastered the soft underfoot conditions with aplomb for his latest success in the hands of Warren Kennedy.“He was bred at Te Akau Stud, which always makes it special when a horse comes from the farm as a foal right through to this stage and especially to win at this level,” Walker said.“We’ve always loved the progeny of Almanzor. We think he’s an underrated stallion and his progeny only get better each year.“What Nucleozor is doing as a two-year-old is quite exciting and we can only expect him to get better as a three and four-year-old. “He’s a horse with a lot of promise and we look forward to the future with him.”Nucleozor bounced well from the inside gate to sit in behind the pace and he lengthened stride effortlessly along the fence in the straight to win by a widening 4.3l under a minimum of urging.He is raced by breeders Te Akau Stud and Weston Lea Bloodstock’s David Peacocke and his dam Nucleonic was a juvenile winner while granddam Mexican Rose was a champion two-year-old and three-year-old in Singapore, having also won two of her three starts in New Zealand.Nucleozor’s older sister is stablemate Qali Al Farrasha, a winner and placed in this season’s G1 New Zealand Oaks and G3 Sunline Vase, who will make her next appearance in the G1 Australasian Oaks at Morphettville on April 27.

A patient approach with Asgard was rewarded with an impressive breakthrough victory at Otaki.The strapping son of Almanzor was making his fourth appearances and improved on a previous runner-up finish at Tauranga to win with a minimum of effort over 1600 metres.“I’ve been really happy with him and he’s a big, strong horse and still a work in progress,” Cambridge trainer Lauren Brennan said.“He’s had a few issues and we’ve had to take our time with him, which is paying off now.“Once he gets to 2000 metres, I think he’ll really hit his straps.”Asgard worked his way into second spot and strode to the front 300 metres and gave rider Wiremu Pinn an easy run to the line with five lengths to their closest rival on the post.“They went so slow early on and I was caught wide, so I let him roll along and he put them away nicely,” Pinn said.Bred by Nearco Stud, Asgard was bought by HBV for $7250 when offered by Curraghmore via Gavelhouse at New Zealand Bloodstock’s South Island Sale.He is a half-brother to the dual Australian Group 3 winner and Group 1 performer Annavisto with their dam the Tavistock mare Avisto.She was a talented performer who was successful three times at Listed level and it’s also the family of our G2 Royal Stakes winner Polygon.

Mon Etoile capped off the encouraging start she has made to her current campaign with a breakthrough victory at Kyneton.The David and Emma-Lee Browne-trained daughter of Almanzor had finished fourth when resuming at Terang off a six-month break before she finished runner-up at Bendigo.As a result of those showings, she was sent out a short-priced favourite and delivered in style over 1865 metres.“She’s always showed quite a bit, but she’s had niggly problems along the way so we’re really happy to get this result,” David Browne said.Mon Etoile settled midfield on the fence before she angled off the rail 600 metres from home and produced a sustained finish for a comfortable victory.“We wanted to ride her quietly from the gate, that’s her pattern. She’s taken a bit of time and will be a 2000 metre plus horse,” Browne said.The well-related Mon Etoile is a daughter of the Pins mare Etoile Filante, who won on five occasions and placed in the G2 Avondale Gild Cup. She was bred by Sir David Williams who remains in the ownership.