The numbers add up for Ashburton accountant

Retired Ashburton accountant and hobby breeder Eric Parr has good reason to feel pleased he heeded the advice of trainer Ken Barron and sent his broodmare Still Laughin to the court of the well-touted American sire Rock N Roll Heaven a few years ago.

That decision has paid handsome dividends with the emergence of Still Rollin, now one of the standout performers of the current summer racing season at Menangle.

“Eric asked me to pick out a suitable stallion for her,” Barron recalled. “I remembered that Greg Sugars had A G’s White Socks going around and a few others sired by him.”

The result of the mating has been nothing short of a success story. Still Rollin, a gelding by Rock N Roll Heaven, qualified for Barron but never raced in New Zealand.

“He went to two trials and went really good,” Barron said. “Eric was offered money that he just didn’t want to turn down at the time, because the rest of the family hadn’t quite done enough.”

After commencing his racing career at the New South Wales provincials, Still Rollin has steadily worked his way through the grades over the past two seasons and now holds an NR102 rating. The five-year-old has struck a purple patch in recent weeks, winning three races at Menangle in 1:49.7, 1:50.6 and 1:50.8, along with finishing second to Captain’s Mistress in the New Year’s Gift.

Overall, the tough and durable gelding has recorded 13 wins, including four at Menangle and two at Albion Park, along with four placings from just 26 starts. His stake earnings now sit at $110,030.

West Melton-based Barron has long held a close association with Still Rollin’s maternal family.

“I drove his mother Still Laughin throughout her career,” Barron said. “She was a very nice mare who won seven races, including a supporting event during the New Zealand Cup carnival.”

“I trained every one of her foals. Still Rollin is easily the best that she’s left.
Her last foal Still B Miki won at his first start for me as a three-year-old at Addington in November.”

Another of Still Laughin’s progeny, Still Grinnin (by Art Major), also showed ability, winning twice in Victoria as a three-year-old, highlighted by a 1:56 performance at Melton.

By the champion sire Live Or Die, Still Laughin was purchased by Parr at the 2012 Christchurch Yearling Sale from prominent Oamaru breeders Ray and the late Maureen Beale. She proved a shrewd acquisition, being a half-sister to the 2019 Gore Cup winner Bettathanfast and to the dam of the 2018 WA Christmas Gift winner Saying Grace, who later recorded a sensational 1:48.8 in America and retired with career earnings of $547,362.

Depth runs deep through the family. Other notable members of Still Rollin’s immediate pedigree include Great Northern Derby and dual Invercargill Cup winner Laser Lad, former Australian trotting star Lenin, who won 17 races at Moonee Valley, and the WA Derby heat winner Ulrich.

For Parr, the figures on the spreadsheet may have always mattered, but few calculations would be more satisfying than seeing a homebred perform at the elite end of Australian racing.