Honorable Mention (NZ) 3 g Rip Van Winkle – Honor Bound by Honor Grades
New Zealand-bred three-year-old Honorable Mention put up a really promising performance in winning on debut at Ballarat on Wednesday.
A son of Group One-winning mare Honor Bound (Honor Grades), he settled in third place on the rails in the early stages of the race before he was switched out deep on turning for home to deliver his challenge.
He responded well under pressure to take the lead on passing the 100 metres and went on to score by a length and a quarter from Voiceover (Poet’s Voice), seemingly with something up his sleeve.
His dam Honor Bound won the Easter Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) in 2002, while he is a half-brother to six winners, including Bound To Impress (Galileo), who herself is the dam of the dual Listed winner Alibi (Darci Brahma).
Honor Bound is a half-sister to the Group Two winner Greenback (McGinty) and the unraced dam of the Listed winner Beau Brummell (My Halo), while the second dam, Amrica (Amalgam), was a dual Group Three winner and ran second in the New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m).
This is also the same family as stakes winners Imperial Diamond (Imperial Seal) and Madison Gray (Mellifont).
Honorable Mention’s sire Rip Van Winkle (Galileo) stood for fee of NZ$10,000 (plus GST) at Windsor Park Stud last year and has been represented by 21 stakes winners to date.