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Posted 2009-02-14 10:30:20  
At Long Last For The Rock Story

In a season where he has had 10 stakes placed runners, Rock Of Gibraltar finally broke through for an overdue stakes success when Rock Me Baby took out today's G2 Light Fingers Stakes.

The David Payne trained filly became the first stakes winner in Australia for her sire this season when able to hold off the finishing burst of Australia's highest rated filly Samantha Miss over the 1200m journey.

This was Rock Me Baby's fourth win on end but her first at stakes level, having been Listed placed as a juvenile last year.

The filly was a $260,000 purchase for Payne from the draft of Kia Ora Stud at the 2007 Inglis Australian Easter Sale.

She is from the Highest Honor mare Highest Cool and is the first stakes winner within the first three dams.

Rock Me Baby is the 36th individual worlwide stakes winner for her sire, who also produced the G1 winner Eagle Mountain to win the G1 Hong Kong Cup in December.

Rock Of Gibraltar is in the Top 20 Australian stallions this season, but of the top 27 sires, was the only one not to have sired a stakes winner prior to today.

But on the score of consistency, he was certainly owed today's success.

Each of Gamble Me, Imvula, Murtajill, Pillar Of Hercules, Rock Jester, Rock Kingdom, Rock My Pago, Rockwood, Rough Chance and Tariks had been stakes placed, but without winning.

Rock Of Gibraltar, who covered 144 mares in Australia last season, is among the leaders on the Racing & Sports Timeform Sires list, by 100+ runners.

Though Rock Me Baby is his first stakes winner this season, the stallion has had 14 individual runners rate to a Timeform level of 100 or higher this season.
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