Windsor Park Stud’s association with major Australian breeders and owners Wally Truscott and George Altomonte and their trainer Jack Denham is integral to the story of the Cambridge nursery’s rising home-bred star Helena Baby (NZ) (Guillotine {NZ}).

The farm was involved with the trio from the early 1980s and the Group 1 prospect Helena Baby’s family origins trace all the way back to that time.

“Years ago when we had Star Way we used to look after mares for Wally, George and Jack, who used to also train for them, and Vaindarra was a mare that Wally owned,” Windsor Park General Manager Steve Till said.

“She won the G2 Silver Slipper S. and ran second in the Golden Slipper S. and she was a big, strong almost masculine style of mare. She produced Fickle Hostess by Lunchtime who went to Zabeel.

“Fickle Hostess was a beautiful mare, picture perfect with great balance and sweet temperament. Vaindarra had run second in the Slipper and Fickle Hostess had run fourth.

“It was precocious blood and Fickle Hostess went to Zabeel and she produced Abeel Hostess, who we bought back in 2010 at the Sydney Easter Broodmare Sale and she was a really good-looking mare.

“We bred from her and also at the same time we bought Hot Stash as a race filly off the track from Brett Howard’s Randwick Bloodstock Agency.”

Fast forward to today, and Hot Stash (Secret Savings {USA}), Abeel Hostess (NZ), Fickle Hostess and Vaindarra (Vain) are the first four dams of Helena Baby.

“We sent Hot Stash to Starcraft after we bought her and she produced Hover, who was a very smart horse, and her next mating was to Mastercraftsman and she produced Pacific Mystical, who won a few in Singapore,” Till said.

“We then mated her to Guillotine and she produced Helena Baby, who’s now won five from seven.”

Hot Stash has also had a colt by Shamexpress, who was sold at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale and a Vanbrugh colt will be offered as a yearling at Karaka next year.

“The Shamexpress colt was bought by David Ellis for NZ$150,000, but there was a disputed bid so he had to come back in the ring and he was knocked down for NZ$185,000. David was the buyer again,” Till said.

Helena Baby was a private purchase for Cambridge trainer John Bell and following the gelding’s runaway last-start win in the Listed Opunake Cup is headed to the G2 Foxbridge Plate with a first or second place finish there guaranteeing a start in the G1 Tarzino Trophy.

They will be the 4-year-old’s last appearances in New Zealand before he heads to Hong Kong where is owned.

“I bought him out of the paddock at Windsor Park. I was invited around to have a look at a number of yearlings and selected him straight away,” Bell said.

“He was very athletic and had a beautiful walk. A lot of people said to me why did you buy him – well, he had a great walk and if you can’t walk you can’t run.”

Helena Baby was a late starter, not necessarily by design, but Bell said that had turned out to be a blessing.

“He was supposed to go to Hong Kong earlier and was in quarantine and there was a real mix up and he got locked in there for about five months,” Bell said. “I got him home and he was out for another couple of months and that was the making of the horse.

“I’ve made the statement before that the Guillotines just needed time. Bart Cummings was dead right when he said there’s a lot of time and a lot of patience in this industry and not a lot of people care to use much of it. I read that page in his book every night.

“He’ll go into quarantine and all the flights to Hong Kong in August are over-flowing so we’re on the reserve list and he’s booked on the September flight.

“CY Lee and his father-in-law are the owners of the horse so it stands to reason they’d want him up there.”

In the meantime, Bell is looking forward to a crack at the G1 Tarzino Trophy with the grey gelding.

“We’ll freshen him up for 1200 metres and run him in the Foxbridge Plate, he’ll need a run before the Tarzino,” he said.

“He’s a real tradesman and knows what he’s doing. We just have to be careful we don’t do too much and just keep him happy.”