Waikiki Beach sold to United States

Former star three-year-old Waikiki Beach has been sold and will do his future racing in North America.

Australian-born New Jersey trainer Ross Croghan, who was in Christchurch for the New Zealand Cup last week, has purchased the son of Somebeachsomewhere on behalf of clients.

Croghan could be taking home as many as six horses with him and Waikiki Beach is the biggest name amongst the shipment. The Tony Herlihy-trained pair Mr Euroman and Classy Chapel are among his other buys, as is the well-performed Canterbury pacer Shine on u crazy diamond, who won three races for Cran Dalgety.

A deal to purchase another top pacer, Hug The Wind, is also in the works and is expected to be finalized by Friday.

Waikiki Beach looked like being the next superstar of Australasia when he won his first 19 starts from the stable of Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen.

He finished his three-year-old season the winner of 23 of his 24 starts, all bar the first two of them in Australia. Among his five Group 1 wins across the ditch were the 2016 New South Wales Derby and the 2015 and 2016 Australasian Breeders Crown Finals.

But in one of the biggest falls from grace ever, Waikiki Beach did not win a race in New Zealand as a four-year-old or to start this, his five-year-old campaign – a run stretching 14 starts.

He disappointed in the Ashburton Flying Stakes and Kaikoura Cup and was most recently second-last in the Show Day Free For All. Waikiki Beach was raced by Queensland’s Cheryl Rasmussen and Christchurch’s Trevor Casey, the later of which bought out Neil Pilcher’s one-third share during the horse’s threeyear-old season.