South Island Sale Graduate Signify (NZ) Does It Again

With the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock South Island Sale just around the corner, one of the greatest bargain buys in the Sale’s history hit the headlines again on Saturday when Signify (NZ) (Perfectly Ready) won the $50,000 Listed Phill Cataldo Bloodstock Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Trentham.

Bought at the 2013 Sale for just $5,500, Signify rose to stardom with an outstanding win in the $250,000 Group 1 JR & Berkett Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham in January.

Over the same course and distance, the five-year-old did it again on Saturday with an irresistible come-from-behind run. Jockey Chris Johnson positioned him at the rear of the 10-horse field, then timed his finish to perfection and brought him home over the top of his rivals to win by a length.

Signify has now won nine of his 33 starts and more than $330,000 in stakes – 60 times his purchase price.

“He loves it here at Trentham, it’s the ideal place for him,” said trainer Alex ‘Snooky’ Cowan, whose wife Tracey owns the five-year-old. “He really likes the big roomy tracks.

“He’s been tripped up in his last couple by races not quite being run at a true speed and consistent pace, and he’s started over-racing. Mid-race today I wasn’t sure if they were going quick enough for him, but luckily it worked out.”

Signify was bred by the Hawkins family’s Llanhennock Trust, and he is out of the Stravinsky mare Pica Pica (NZ). The Hawkinses offered Signify at the South Island Sale under their Wentwood Grange banner.

The 2017 South Island Sale will be held on 21 April at the Riding for the Disabled Building at the Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch. The catalogue is available now.