Black Type for Oak Park & Bonnie Mac

The $50,000 Listed Windsor Park Stud Rotorua Stakes (1400m) saw Oak Park put her name forward as a filly to watch as she produced a tough performance to win her first black-type race on Saturday.

Trained by Murray Baker, Oak Park (More Than Ready x Dawnie Dancer) jumped well on the inside for jockey Lisa Crop and kept within a length of the leading pack, staying on the inside as the field straightened. In a bold run from the filly, she kicked inside the final 150 metres to go clear and hold off Zennista (Zenno Rob Roy) and Fleur de Lune (Stravinsky) to win by half-a-head.

Originally second emergency for the race, the daughter of More Than Ready came into the Listed contest after a last start win over 1200 metres at Ellerslie. With career figures now reading 12 starts for four wins and four placings, she looks a filly with a bright future as she beat some handy older mares in Saturday's race.

The filly's only other tilt at stakes level was in the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m), the well-contested seventh leg of New Zealand Bloodstock's Filly of the Year Series. She was unplaced in the race after receiving no luck, being forced to race fifth three wide with no cover.

The daughter of More Than Ready has shown she has a good turn-of-foot with a performance at Ellerslie in December last year where she won over 1400 metres with a late finish, running the last 600 metres in 34.58 seconds.

Bred by Dr Alan Bray, Oak Park is raced by J Collins and was offered by Westbury Stud at New Zealand Bloodstock's 2010 Karaka Premier Sale. She was later offered by Mana Park at the 2010 Ready to Run Sale.

The lightly raced mare Bonnie Mac (NZ) (Thorn Park x Gold Class) is another that looks an up and coming talent for trainer Michael Moroney as she took her fifth race win, and her first black type victory, at Morphettville in the Listed A$100,000 Proud Miss Stakes (1200m) on Saturday.

Now a winner of five of her six starts, the daughter of Thorn Park did not race until the beginning of the season where she ran fifth on debut as a four-year-old at Matamata. She then took back-to-back wins at Matamata and Trentham before she was given a break and taken to Australia.

Winning fresh up at Ballarat, she took her first Australian metropolitan win at Caulfield in late April before winning Saturday's Listed assignment. Bonnie Machas the ability to produce fast sectionals with her last two races seeing her run 34.64 seconds and 34.85 seconds for the final 600 metres.

Bred by Goldbro Services Pty Ltd, Bonnie Mac is raced by Ian McCarrison and Mrs C McCarrison and was purchased by Paul Moroney Bloodstock from Wentwood Grange at New Zealand Bloodstock's 2009 Karaka Select Sale for $90,000.

The half-brother to Bonnie Mac by Darci Brahma was purchased by NZB as Agent for Hong Kong buyers at the Karaka Premier Sale this year for $150,000.

Bonnie Mac is the 15th stakes winner for her sire Thorn Park. New Zealand's reigning champion sire, he has also sired Australian stakes winners including Jimmy Choux who won the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas, Centennial Park, Swiss Rose, Pricked and Kontiki Park. Thorn Park has also sired Ocean Park who ran the toughest of thirds in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas a few weeks ago.