Meant To Be claims Lyell Creek Stakes
The Father Patrick 4-year-old Meant To Be was an impressive winner of the Group 2 Lyell Creek Stakes at Alexandra Park on Friday night.
The two-time New Zealand Trotting Age Group Champion easily reeled in last season’s Group 1 National Trot winner Hillbilly Blues soon after turning for home, and then successfully fended off the always fast finishing Oscar Bonavena to score by a neck.
It was Meant To Be’s 10th career win and his seventh at stakes level, with it taking his lifetime earnings to $531,477.
Bred by Breckon Farms Ltd, he is out of the Group 1 winning Muscle Hill mare Luby Lou.
Father Patrick sired a double at the meeting with another talented 4-year-old son in Higher Power, making it three wins on the bounce, and his eighth in total, earlier on the card.
A Group Race winner as a 2-year-old, Higher Power has now banked more than $187,000 in stakes earnings.
Like Meant To Be, Higher Power was bred by Breckon Farms, and is out of the broodmare gem High Gait, a multiple Group 1 winning Muscles Yankee mare who has left three stakes winners to date by Father Patrick.