Wylie Dalziel, top syndicator, and Peter Moody, Hall of Fame trainer, noted a compelling family tie when viewing Oak Lightning as a New Zealand yearling.
The Per Incanto foal out of Little Avondale Stud is half-brother to Desert Lightning, Pride Of Dubai’s Group 1 New Zealand conqueror who later joined Moody and Katherine Coleman at Pakenham.
This lineage also includes sibling status to Oak Hill, Lindsay Park’s Group 2 winner, with a premier name adding intrigue to Moody’s Saturday Redoute’s Choice Stakes at Caulfield selection.
Oak Lightning shares dam Isstoora with Desert Lightning and Oak Hill; she is granddaughter to Twyla (Danehill-Shantha’s Choice), sister to Redoute’s Choice.
Factors in Oak Lightning’s group made the NZ$200,000 Karaka purchase worthwhile, Dalziel explained.
“Moods obviously had Desert Lightning, so he took a line through him, and Oak Hill had only had a few starts (at the time) but looked alright and then when we came across him we thought, ‘what a nice colt this is,'” Dalziel recalled.
“There was enough in the pedigree, so we were happy we got him $200,000, fall of hammer,”
Group 1 successes from Redoute’s Choice, Desert Lightning, Al Maher, Platinum Scissors, Hurricane Sky, Gathering, Tom Kitten, and In Italian grace Oak Lightning’s pedigree.
Dalziel approves of Moody entering the gelding in the $175,000 Listed race first-up from such a successful dam line.
Two late-year Pakenham jumpouts preceded two recent ones for the gelding, capped by an 800m win March 24 despite wide trip and light ride to finish boldly.
The gate 10 of 11 initially troubled Dalziel and Moody for the Redoute’s Choice Stakes, but scratches left six in the 1200m by Friday 1pm.
“Moods doesn’t often throw his two-year-olds in the deep end like this, so he’s got a very good opinion of him, he just would have rather draw a good barrier to be a little bit more confident,” Dalziel said.
“It’s a two-year-old race, anything can happen. He might be back a bit, but he’ll hit the line hard.”
Aboard for Linda Meech is Oak Lightning, second outsider to market leaders Drumfire (Farnan colt) and Gin Twist (Listed Home Affairs winner).
Find competitive betting markets for the race on the Redoute’s Choice Stakes.
