El Roca, the highly talented son of Fastnet Rock, has been retired to stud and will return to Gerry Harvey’s Westbury Stud at Karaka to stand the 2015 breeding season, the property from where he was raised and prepared for sale as a youngster.

The lightly raced entire has always looked one from the top drawer - unbeaten in his two trials as a two-year-old and then scoring impressive victories in his two race starts in New Zealand as a three-year-old. At the conclusion of the 2013-14 racing season El Roca headed the New Zealand 3YO Free Handicap (1200-1600m) with an allotted weight of 60kg and was rated above Group 1 winners Bounding, Atlante, Recite, Puccini, Costa Viva, Lucia Valentina, Rising Romance, & Ruud Awakening.

His New Zealand ranking aside, El Roca also achieved an extremely high ranking in Australia as a three-year-old, culminating in an end of season Timeform Rating of 121, which saw him rated the equal of Dissident, Eurozone, Notlistenin’tome, & Puccini - and ahead of Guelph, Bounding, Sweet Idea, Hooked, & Sidestep

A 16.2½hh strapping bay, El Roca’s trainers Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young, were quick to recognise the horse’s ability and at just his third career start he was pitted against the best spring three-year-olds in Australia’s when he contested the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude, just 41 days after a winning debut over 1000m at Taupo.

While he warranted respect on his unbeaten form in New Zealand, El Roca went out at 14/1 at his Australian debut and gave the Australian’s a big fright when going down narrowly to the very talented Éclair Big Bang and defeating subsequent Caulfield Guineas winner Long John with Group 1 performers Charlie Boy, Romantic Touch, & Fast ‘n’ Rocking among the beaten brigade on the day.

El Roca had become one of the “talk horses” heading into the stallion-making race of Australia, the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, but he had no luck getting a clear passage from the 600m onwards - being severely hampered over the last 400m and doing exceptionally well to finish fifth to Long John, Divine Calling, Shamus Award, and Dissident.

Returned to New Zealand, El Roca was given a brief spell with a view to venturing back to Australia in the autumn to tackle major Group 1 events and the opportunity to be measured against the “cream of crop” during Sydney’s Autumn Carnival.

The colt returned to the track in spectacular fashion winning the Listed ATC Eskimo Prince Stakes over 1200 at Rosehill, comprehensively beating the Group 1 winners Dissident and Romantic Touch and stamping himself as a major contender for the races on his autumn itinerary.

The plans for El Roca went slightly awry after the Eskimo Prince when he was a late scratching for the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes two weeks later due to a treatment technicality. This interruption to his program meant he then had to divert to the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup over 1300m the following week and against the older horses if he was going to be fit enough to tackle the 1600m of his principal target, the Group 1 Randwick Guineas a week later.

The only 3YO in the Liverpool City Cup, El Roca met a very smart field at Warwick Farm and went down by the narrowest of margins to the subsequent Group 1 winner Terravista with quality performers Ninth Legion and Malavio following next. While the timing wasn’t ideal for El Roca, he made the back-up a week later in the Randwick Guineas, starting a $3.20 favourite in a star-studded field of Australia’s leading three-year-olds which included Criterion, Dissident, Eurozone, Hooked, Atlante, Romantic Touch and Bull Point.

Given a lovely ride behind the speed by regular pilot Hugh Bowman, El Roca sprinted to the leader Dissident at the 400m and the two quality colts drew out for a “tooth and nail struggle” to the line, with the ‘bob of the head’ falling Dissident’s way in a desperate finish. El Roca was extremely brave in defeat considering the interrupted preparation he had encountered and the fact that Dissident went on to win a further four Group 1 races in his career before retiring to Newgate Farm in the Hunter Valley for a service fee of A$35,000 + GST.

El Roca returned to Randwick two weeks later for the $1,000,000 George Ryder Stakes against the best weight-for-age horses in Australia, and started on the second line of betting at $7 behind the favourite Red Tracer. This was arguably the best field of horses El Roca had come up against in his career - outside of the comfort zone of his own age group and taking on a field which included international visitor Gordon Lord Byron, multiple Group 1 winners Sacred Falls, Boban, and Streama, as well Terravista, Toydini, Fat Al, My Kingdom of Fife, Speediness, and Eurozone.

El Roca performed admirably once again, hitting the front with 300m to go at Rosehill with Speediness joining him simultaneously. The two looked set to fight out the finish until the international Group 1 winner Gordon Lord Byron sneaked through along the inner to nail victory on the line – El Roca finishing a close third and beaten by no more than a length on the line.

El Roca ventured back to Melbourne in the spring of 2014 where he sustained an injury without racing, and again recently for the Brisbane carnival, but the time away from the track had made it very hard for the 4YO entire to get back to full fitness and saw him racing below the standard he had achieved earlier in his career.

By Coolmore Stud’s outstanding sire Fastnet Rock, El Roca was bred by Australian breeders Peter Newsom, Mac Whitehouse, and Tony Wales and was a $120,000 yearling purchase when offered through the Westbury Stud draft at the Karaka Premier Sale.

Fastnet Rock is proving to be one of the greatest influences on modern day breeding in the southern hemisphere, and like his sire Danehill, he is now looking to establish a dynasty of his own with his sons Hinchinbrook, Stryker, Rothesay, and Wanted beginning their stud careers impressively and the likes of Foxwedge, Smart Missile, Your Song and the likes to come in the years ahead.

The dominance of Fastnet Rock as a sire has been evidenced in extraordinary fashion again in recent weeks with the stallion credited with his first European Classic winner at Epsom recently when his daughter Qualify captured The Oaks; while last weekend in Brisbane Fastnet Rock’s son Magicool was dominant when winning the Queensland Derby, and son Hinchinbrook enjoyed the privilege of providing both juvenile stakes winners at Doomben on the same day including the Group 1 winner Press Statement.

It is not just the sons of Fastnet Rock who are making their mark at stud, but his daughters are also doing a superb job as broodmares. While they are still in their infancy as broodmares, daughters of Fastnet Rock have produced three individual stakes winner in the past three months including the impressive filly Shees Flawless, winner of the Group 3 Cambridge Breeder’s Stakes at Te Rapa in very quick time.

El Roca’s dam, Rubimill, by WS Cox Plate winner Rubiton, is an unraced sister to the very talented two-year-old Millrich – winner of Group 3 Sweet Embrace Stakes and placed third behind Flying Spur and Octagonal in the 1995 Golden Slipper Stakes. At stud Millrich is the dam of Group 3 winning sprinter and successful sire Danerich (by Danehill) who has sired the Group 1 performing sprinter Lord of the Sky as well as the stakes winners Richie’s Vibe, Classy Chloe, Heaven’s Riches, Streetcar Isabelle, Flying Skipper, etc.

El Roca is undoubtedly the highest rated son of Fastnet Rock to retire to stud in New Zealand and the enormous respect he enjoyed when competing successfully in Australia should provide excellent interest in his progeny when they hit the sale venues and racetracks of Australasia in the future.

El Roca’s introductory fee of $7,500 + GST looks to be outstanding value considering his impressive race record where he recorded 3 wins and 4 placings from 12 starts and accumulated stake earnings of A$416,077 in limited career.

For more information contact Gareth Smith on +64 27 292 9089 or sales@westburystud.com.