Race Record

Road To Rock is among a select number of stallions now retiring to stud who overcame the adversity of the 2007 Equine Influenza outbreak to record racing achievements at the highest level on the track and secure a commercial future at stud.

In a time when Anthony Cummings wanted to have his promising three-year-old colt mixing it with the best of his age group, the young Road To Rock was confined to his box.

While early three-year-old racing in Sydney was void, the colt did make it to the races as a late three-year-old, his shortened season building to a fourth placing over 1550m in the Gr. 2 STC Canterbury Stakes, before his connections were made to rue missed spring opportunities when the colt beat home a quality field in the Listed AJC Carbine Club Stakes in just his third black-type start, and first over a mile.

At four, with a stud future now clearly on the radar, Cummings aimed high with Road To Rock, the entire racing amongst black-type company throughout the season. Back to back wins in February 2009, including a win in the Listed MRC Victoria Gold Cup, lead into admirable performances against Australia’s best middle distances gallopers late in his four-year-old season, but it was at five when Road To Rock would put the country’s elite gallopers in their place.

In the spring of 2009, Road To Rock showed his class to the world, defeating a stellar field of 10 gallopers in the Gr. 1 George Main Stakes, eight of which have now recorded Group One wins. Finishing behind Road To Rock that day were dual Stradbroke Handicap winner Black Piranha (2nd), juvenile Group One winner Onemorenomore (3rd), Doncaster Handicap winner Vision and Power (4th), triple Group One winner Mentality (5th), Epsom Handicap winner Rock Kingdom (6th), Doncaster Handicap winner Newport (7th) and five time Group One winning superstar Racing to Win (9th).

While the George Main win remained the highlight of an impressive spring campaign, more elite level success was to follow in the entire’s Autumn Sydney campaign, a controversial head second to Rangirangdoo in the Gr. 1 Doncaster Handicap, justifiably followed by a two length win in the Gr. 1 AJC Queen Elizabeth Handicap, again over a select field of eight class gallopers made up of five Group One winners and three Group Two winners.

Nearing the end of his five-year-old season, and with one eye already firmly placed on the fairer sex, Road To Rock was secured for stud duties by a syndicate led by majority shareholder Wellfield Lodge.

The stallion enters stud duties as a dual Group One winner whose A$1.2million in earnings came from receiving a cheque in 21 of his 26 black-type starts.