At least, that would have been his decision if he had actually taken a look at the Super Easy filly before she turned up at the Raes’ Ruakaka stables earlier this year.
"I took this horse sight unseen or I wouldn’t have taken it,’’ he said.‘‘It was so small. It’s actually grown since we’ve had it. We’ve had it in work since April or May."
There is still not much to Prom Queen, but what she does have is speed and plenty of it, as she showed at Riccarton on Saturday.
Her jockey, Alysha Collett, quickly put a gap between Prom Queen and her rivals, providing the new partnership of Rae, his daughter, Krystal Williams-Tuhoro, and his wife, Lisa, with a stakes win with its first runner.
"You look at the size of her and she’s a midget, but wouldn’t you rather have a Morris Minor with a V8 motor than a V8 with no motor," Rae said.
Rae was not really interested in another horse when Windsor Park Stud rang him, until he heard the filly was out of Royal Academy mare Finishing School.
"Straight away I said to him send it up because Finishing School finished third in a stakes race behind Egyptian Raine and Egyptian Raine went on to win a million and a-half," he said.
"If she’s got her mother’s ability, we’ve got a hope and you’ve got to have a bit of breeding in this day and age. It’s very hard for me with the horses I get to keep up with Murray Baker and all that — I just can’t do it. This horse might be able to do that now."
Collett was in top form after earlier scoring with Bloodstream, a stayer with a very bright future.
His five-length win was one of the easiest of the week, and Collett was thrilled Riccarton trainer Terri Rae gave her the ride again, after she missed the first day through suspension.
"So to get back on today over 2500m, which I thought he would be better at as well, it was good," Collett said.
"Especially seeing him relax and hit the line like a sprinter, it was impressive. He relaxes and as soon as everyone’s happy, he grabs up the bit and it’s go time."
