USIR Comes Into His Own — Grandson of NZ Champion Seachange, by American Pharoah, Flourishing in the Philippines

USIR is a well-bred colt just now coming into his own.
By 2015 U.S. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and out of a family headed by New Zealand champion mare Seachange, his is a pedigree that turns heads on paper alone.
Yet at Australia’s elite Lindsay Park stable he stayed a maiden through four starts as a three-year-old. Listed as a horse who could win “in a weaker jurisdiction,” he was sent to the Philippines — and from his very first local start he has blossomed to 5 wins from 17 (about 70% top-3) and an official rating of 72.
He has won at 1200m, 1400m and 1600m alike, a versatility that echoes his grand-dam Seachange — and that talent is now flowering in the Philippines.
The blood of a U.S. classic champion and of a tough, versatile New Zealand queen, finally clicking together: USIR’s best looks still to come.

USIR’s Pedigree — Grandson of NZ Champion Seachange

USIR’s biggest selling point is, above all, his pedigree.
He is a bay colt foaled on 25 October 2021, bred in New Zealand by the renowned The Oaks Stud.

• Sire — American Pharoah (USA): in 2015 the first U.S. Triple Crown winner (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont) since Affirmed in 1978, and also that year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. At stud he was the Leading First Season Sire in the USA/Canada in 2019 and has sired 55 stakes winners; in Australia he sired Victoria Derby (G1) winner Riff Rocket, proving himself in the Southern Hemisphere too. USIR is one of his Southern Hemisphere-bred runners.
• Dam — Away Cruising (AUS): by the top NZ sire Darci Brahma; a winner over 1400m and 1600m.
• Second dam — Seachange (NZ): USIR’s grand-dam is this great mare — NZ Horse of the Year in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and Champion Sprinter in 2007-08, with 14 wins from 1200m to 1600m and seven Group 1 victories (NZ 1000 Guineas, the Telegraph H. and more), earning NZ$1.24m plus A$299,000 and more.
• Breeder — The Oaks Stud (NZ): the renowned Cambridge farm that bred and raced Seachange herself.

In other words, USIR was bred by mating a U.S. Triple Crown winner with the very family the stud built around its own champion, Seachange.

There is big-race talent close up, too.
USIR’s dam, Away Cruising, is a half-sister to Pelican — the dam of Storm Boy, the brilliant Australian colt who earned over A$3.54m and ran third in the Golden Slipper (G1).
That makes USIR a close relative (a cousin) of Storm Boy.
Seachange’s family has also produced the likes of Divan (a triple winner in Australia) and Antrim Coast (Alister Clark S., G2) — a deep, resilient line.

In Australia — A Maiden at Lindsay Park, Sold for “a Weaker Jurisdiction”

For all that blood, USIR had yet to deliver in Australia.
This is the key to understanding him — and it echoes Lucency.

USIR was bought from his breeder The Oaks Stud by Australia’s elite Lindsay Park Racing for NZD 70,000 at the 2023 Karaka yearling sale (NZB Book 1).
He was trained by Ben, Will & Jd Hayes, a top Australian stable.
But as a three-year-old (2024-25) he went 0 wins from 4 starts.

His best result was that last third, and his earnings across four starts were AUD 5,025.
In Australia’s deep maiden ranks, he simply couldn’t break through.

Then, in January 2025, USIR was offered at Inglis’s online sale (Lot 101) and knocked down for AUD 32,500 to L Ann Decena — the Philippine owner Louise Ann B. Decena.
The sale listing is the telling part.
Lindsay Park presented him as being “from a good family with his grand-dam being Horse of the Year Seachange,” and “very lightly raced… only out of the first four on one occasion,” then added:

We feel he is in a great position to further his career in a weaker jurisdiction and a win is just around the corner.

A well-bred horse who couldn’t win in a strong jurisdiction, sent off in the belief he could win in a weaker one — it is exactly the pattern of Lucency, the U.S. allowance horse who became unbeatable locally.
And that judgment proved spot on.

Flourishing in the Philippines — 5 Wins from 17, ~70% Top-3

In the Philippines, USIR ran as advertised — if not better.
Per the PJC database (as of 27 June 2026), his local record stands as follows.

He has finished top-three in 12 of 17 starts — a top-3 rate of about 70% (70.6%) and a win rate of about 30% (29.4%).
A horse winless in four Australian starts won on debut here (12 December 2025, 1400m) and has stayed near the front ever since.
His five wins show the transformation:

The earnings gap is just as stark.
Against AUD 5,025 from four Australian starts, his 2026 Philippine earnings stand at ₱1,020,000 (₱37,500 in 2025).
Given the right environment, this was a horse who could deliver.

Distance Versatility — Winning from 1200m to 1600m

USIR is an all-rounder, with wins at 1200m, 1400m and 1600m.
His April 2026 double says it all:

• 8 April 2026: won over 1200m at PJC in 1:10.37 (56.0kg).
• 19 April 2026: 11 days later, won a 14-runner 1600m at MMTCI in 1:38.4 (58.0kg).

He won a speed-demanding 1200m and a stamina-demanding 1600m within just 11 days.
His grand-dam Seachange likewise won 14 races from 1200m to 1600m — so that all-round profile is very much in the blood.

Class, Weight and Rating Progression

USIR has stepped up in textbook fashion.

• Class: mostly Class 4 from December 2025 to January 2026, then settled into Class 3 from February 2026 — a clean rise of one class.
• Weight: he carried 53.5–56kg while racking up early wins, but now shoulders top weight of 58kg in Class 3 — the burden curve of a horse penalized for winning.
• Rating: his current official rating is 72.00 (up from 69.00) and trending higher — a level that holds its own at the top of Class 3.

Rising a full class from the bottom conditions in barely six months, and holding firm even under top weight — this is the very picture of a horse on the up.

Where He Stands Now — The Best Is Yet to Come

His recent form shows how reliable he has become.
Even carrying top weight of 58kg in Class 3, he keeps hitting the board.

In his most recent start (7 June 2026, PJC, 1650m, Class 3) he held on gamely for second, beaten just 0.75 lengths by the winner GENERATIVE (FRUGALITY third).
Staying in contention in Class 3 under heavier weights against tougher rivals is clear proof his ability ranks among the better of the current crop.

A horse pitched as having “a win just around the corner” has now won five times in the Philippines and carries top weight in Class 3.
With Seachange’s versatility behind him and a top-class sire in American Pharoah, more success as he climbs is well within range.
Having just reached a rating of 72, USIR is right at the point where things get exciting.

Related Articles

• Who Is Lucency — Why a U.S. Allowance Horse Is Unbeatable Locally — the same “well-bred horse who couldn’t win in a strong jurisdiction rises in the Philippines” pattern, in its dominant form
• The Famous Bloodlines Coming to the Philippines — A Record Influx — the supply side that brings in U.S., Australian and NZ pedigrees like USIR’s
• Is the Philippines Asian Racing’s Sleeping Giant? — the local level of competition and where the market stands

Summary

USIR is a colt by U.S. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, out of a family headed by NZ Horse of the Year Seachange (his grand-dam), and a close relative of the high-priced Australian colt Storm Boy.
Racing for the elite Lindsay Park stable in Australia, he was a maiden through four starts as a three-year-old (best a third) and was sold for AUD 32,500 as a horse for “a weaker jurisdiction.”
That judgment proved right: in the Philippines he has gone 5 wins from 17 (12 top-3, about 70%), risen from Class 4 to Class 3, reached an official rating of 72.00, and earned ₱1,020,000 in 2026.
His ease across 1200–1600m is the very quality his grand-dam Seachange possessed.
A well-bred horse who was dormant in a strong jurisdiction is finally coming into his own — and USIR is a colt to watch closely as he aims higher.

Sources

• Philippine Jockey Club — Horse Database: USIR (Philippine record, rating and earnings)
• William Inglis & Son (official) — “Usir (NZ)” 2025 January (Late) Online Sale, Lot 101 (sale price AUD$32,500, pedigree, listing and Australian record; pedigree data by Arion Pedigrees)
• New Zealand Bloodstock (official) — “Usir (NZ)” 2023 Karaka Book 1, Lot 51 (offered by The Oaks Stud, NZD$70,000)
• Wikipedia — American Pharoah (2015 U.S. Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup Classic; stud record)
• The Oaks Stud — About Us (the stud’s profile; Seachange and other horses produced)
• New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association — NZ-breds’ success in Australia