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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
War Princess will contest Saturday’s Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m). Photo: Jack McKenzie (Race Images Palmerston North) Peter Didham and his owners can take a good deal of satisfaction from their dual representation in Saturday’s feature event at Trentham, regardless of the outcome. The Awapuni trainer and connections have the unbeaten War Princess and the promising Shameless Star to do battle in the Group 1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m). The stablemates were purchased as early prospects, and for both to be competing at the elite level this weekend is a sound reflection on the selection process. “I’ve got a great bunch of owners, and we got together and identified that Entain had put some decent stake money up,” Didham said. “We went and bought a couple of horses that we hoped would make two- and three-year-olds, and now we’ve got two runners in the Sires’ Produce, so we’re really excited.” The fillies are raced by Ian Middleton’s Exempt Bloodstock and Chelsea Connections Ltd, also Auckland-based, with Palmerston North couple Brendon and Debbie Hart. A daughter of U S Navy Flag, War Princess was secured for $77,500 out of Haunui Farm’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstocks National Yearling Sale while Shameless Star was offered by Woburn Farm and bought for $55,000. War Princess goes into the Sires’ Produce with the form on the board following two comfortable front-running victories. “I’m really happy with her and she galloped 1000m here (on Tuesday) on the new grass track and I thought she was excellent,” Didham said. “It’s a huge jump from winning at Tauherenikau and Wanganui to taking on a big 1400m at Wellington. “It’s only her third run and there’s a question whether she’s seasoned enough, but she deserves a go. War Princess is a half-sister to juvenile winner and Karaka Millions placegetter Appellant. “She’s a funny horse, she’s not brilliant on the track but she won a jump-out, a trial and a race and then a trial and another race,” Didham said. “She has just kept finding each time, so we haven’t really tested her too much to know what we’ve got. She is an easy-going filly and good to train, she’s lovely.” Shamexpress youngster Shameless Star, from the family of Group 1 Otaki Maori WFA Stakes (1400m) winner Star Satire, has finished fourth in both of her outings. “She’s my favourite horse in the stable, but she’s probably a year away, and I think you will see her running around in some nice three-year-old fillies’ races,” Didham said. “She is just a bit lighter, and the experience will do her good. “I don’t think she will be far away, but I think her time will come next season.” Didham will also be represented in the Group 2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m) by the enigmatic Savabeel mare Manifique. “She is a frustrating horse and seems to go a ripper of a race and then a very average one and then another ripper,” Didham said. “I’ve just been battling this year to get on top of why she’s not performing like she can, she’s not far off it and her work has been great. “The vet has been over her two or three times and we can’t find anything, she’s had everything x-rayed and her teeth done, so hopefully we will have the real Manifique on Saturday.” Horse racing news View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
La Dorada will contest Saturday’s Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Trentham. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson will present nearly a third of the field in Saturday’s Group 1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m), vying for a seventh title in the last eight years with their all-conquering juveniles. Te Akau’s glamour girl Melody Belle commenced their string of dominance in the $550,000 feature back in 2017, with the likes of Avantage and On The Bubbles taking the crown in the following years. Each of that trio also was victorious in the $1 million Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), a feat completed this year by Sires’ Produce favourite La Dorada. The Super Seth filly backed up her Millions performance swiftly when taking out the Group 2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m), and as a leading hope in the Group 1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) earlier this month, she was ruled out on race morning with a spiked temperature. On the back foot, Walker and Bergerson have taken an alternative route with La Dorada but are confident she is ready to take on the elite-level feature at Trentham. “We’re playing a bit of catch up now, she’s had two exhibition gallops at Tauranga and again at Matamata last Sunday to keep her up to the mark,” Bergerson said. “She’s had a bit of time between runs and up to 1400m is the query, but she’s very bright and well at home now. Thankfully, she bounced through that spiked temperature after a couple of days and we think we’ve got her on track.” La Dorada is the current market leader at $2.50, with her less-experienced stablemate Hostility next at $10. Hostility, a $1.65 million son of I Am Invincible, narrowly missed winning his debut, going down to Tajana at Matamata. “I was proud of his effort… the winner is a pretty nice horse and it’s a good form line heading into Saturday,” said Bergerson. He’s improved from the raceday experience and worked well at Matamata with Born To Be Royal. “He’s obviously got the least experience of the field, but we think he’s talented enough to be a strong each-way chance.” Born To Be Royal, third behind La Dorada at Matamata, is considered a promising filly. “She doesn’t carry a lot of condition… but she’s a real horse for the future and we think the big, roomy track at Trentham will really suit her, as well as the step up to 1400m.” To Bravery Born, who placed third in the Matamata Slipper, completes the Te Akau quartet. “He was very fresh without a lead-up before the Karaka Million… we’ve kept him fresh for Saturday. He’s done very well at home… He probably needs to improve off the Slipper effort, but he’s very bright at home.” Walker and Bergerson tailor each horse’s prep individually. “They’re all coming from different form-lines… we think they are going there in tip-top order.” Horse racing news View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Leading into the 2025 breeding season we reflect on the volume of mares covered by a stallion with 10+ mares in 2024. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Atishu (NZ) (Savabeel) may not be mentioned in the same breath as some of Chris Waller’s champions past and present, but the mare is far from a spent force on the racetrack. The seven-year-old will be chasing a third Group 1 win at Flemington and her fourth in total when she lines up in the Australian Cup at Flemington on Saturday. The same age as Pride Of Jenni and Deny Knowledge who have both improved as they have aged, Atishu also fits into that category. Atishu registered her third Group 1 win last spring when successful in the Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington before chasing home her stablemate Via Sistina in the Champions Stakes (2000m) a week later. A year prior, Atishu has finished second in the Empire Rose before winning the Champions Stakes. With two runs under the belt this campaign, her latest being a closing fifth in the Group 1 All-Star Mile (1600m) on March 8, Waller’s assistant trainer Charlie Duckworth said Atishu would relish the extra trip on Saturday. “Her runs have been good and it’s well documented that she gets better the deeper she gets into a preparation,” Duckworth said. “She always carries plenty of condition and her best runs are usually on the quick back-up. “She’s coming here off the back of a three-week gap, so we’ve made a conscious effort that she’s trimmed up a little bit fitter and a little bit lighter and not carrying as much condition as she does so well between runs.” The All-Star Mile was run at a slow tempo with the pace increasing from the home turn, which did not suit Atishu who was outsprinted. However, the mare did work to the line solidly to finish fifth, just under three-and-a-half lengths from the winner Tom Kitten. Duckworth expects Saturday’s contest, with Pride Of Jenni and Deny Knowledge engaged, to be run more truly which may assist the Waller-trained mare. “In terms of race shape, she’s instantly in the back-half, regardless of Pride Of Jenni and Deny Knowledge being in there,” Duckworth said. “But the hot tempo should allow her to cruise into it and she loves Flemington, so there’s a lot to like about it, but it’s a seriously good Group 1 contest.” Duckworth said the stable was keeping an open mind as to where Atishu may head following Saturday’s outing. The Group 1 Queen Of The Turf (1600m) at Randwick on April 12, a race Atishu won in 2023, is a possibility, as is the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on the same day. “If she was to beat them all on Saturday, there’s no reason why she can’t go into the Queen Elizabeth,” Duckworth said. “But we’ll get through Saturday and then work out where we head.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Central Districts filly Too Sweet (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) was all the rage ahead of January’s Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), but now she seems to be the forgotten horse of the juvenile ranks, set to start as an outsider in Saturday’s Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Trentham. “I think she is the forgotten horse, she has drifted from $6 to about $21, so it’s incredible really,” trainer Roydon Bergerson said. “She is the only horse in the race that has beaten La Dorada (NZ) (Super Seth), and she beat her fair and square in the Eclipse (Gr.2, 1200m).” Purchased by part-owner Chris Rutten out of Phoenix Park’s 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 2 Yearling Sale draft for $50,000, Too Sweet began her career with a bang, winning on debut over 900m at Trentham, and doubled her win tally two races later when taking out the Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day. She started a $5 third favourite for the Karaka Millions 2YO but had a luckless run from her outside barrier and finished 11th. The taxing run told on the daughter of Satono Aladdin, who has enjoyed a freshen-up ahead of her first elite-level target this weekend. “It is a big ask, she hasn’t raced for a couple of months,” Bergerson said. “She had a tough run in the Karaka Millions, which wasn’t ideal. She got stuck back and stuck wide. She challenged on the turn, but she just had too much work to do. “She was a bit tired after the race. We were going to go to the Sistema (Gr.1, 1200m) but it had just taken too much out of her and we got her home and freshened her up. “She went out to Chris Rutten’s for a little bit of a break and then she came back, and I gave her one gallop and we took her to the Waipuk trials were she just got beaten by Peter Didham’s filly (War Princess). “We gave her another couple of gallops and she trialled against the older horses and went super the other day at Foxton and ended up on the fence in behind the leaders, and didn’t let her head go at all. She galloped in-between races at Waverley with Bradman (NZ) (Pins) (last week) and on a Heavy track she still ran home in 47, so it was good work. “She had her final hit-out and galloped really well on the course proper here (Awapuni) on Tuesday morning. “We did the same programme with Wolverine and it nearly came off.” Too Sweet has been plagued by bad draws, and this weekend is no exception, with jockey Masa Hashizume having to overcome the outside barrier in the field of 13. “She has just been plagued by bad draws. She drew eight of eight in the Eclipse, she drew 14 of 14 in the Karaka Millions, and now she has drawn 13 of 13 in the Sires’,” Bergerson said. “We are just going to have to come up with some plan with Masa and see how the track plays. The track might be tired on the inside so it might work to her advantage, we don’t know. We will probably know halfway through the day and where the speed is coming from. “It is going to be a really interesting race and a tidy field, there are a lot of chances.” Bergerson hasn’t ruled out an Australian campaign with his filly, however, he said Saturday will more than likely be her last run for the season. “This will probably be her grand final, but you never know,” he said. “If she comes out and bolts in you would have to look at something else, whether it be Sydney or Brisbane. You just have to leave that until after the race.” Earlier on the card, stablemate Bradman will be out to defend his crown in the Listed Bramco Granite & Marble Flying Handicap (1400m). The seven-year-old gelding will be first-up and Bergerson is rapt with his condition. “He is coming up really well, I couldn’t be happier with him,” he said. “He has finally matured, it has taken him seven years, but he looks like a little weapon now. “He had a quiet trial the other day, just to get a bit more condition off him. He had an exhibition gallop as well last week at Waverley with Too Sweet just to get more fitness into his legs.” While pleased with his charge, Bergerson said he is hoping to see a bit of moisture about ahead of the weekend. “I was hoping for a bit of rain around for the race. I will just wait to see how firm the track comes up, if it’s too firm he probably won’t run,” he said. “He has got a really good jockey (Ryan Elliot) and a good draw (4), and if the fire is out of the track, he will run a cheeky race. “I think he is in for a really successful winter.” Stablemate Town Cryer will also be shooting for stakes success in the Gr.2 City Of Palmerston North Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m The seven-year-old daughter of Tavistock (NZ) (Tavistock) placed in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) in her last outing at Trentham in January before posting two unplaced results at Ellerslie, and Bergerson is hoping a return to Trentham will be favourable for his mare. “I am very happy with her,” he said. “She hasn’t had much luck this season. She went very well the other day (seventh in Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, 1600m), she kept coming to the line. In her last two starts at Auckland have both been really strong to the line. “We can’t wait to get her up over ground. We intended to go to the Bonecrusher (Gr.1, 2000m) but she had a foot issue, and we missed the run in the Otaki-Maori race (Gr.1, 1600m), hence why we stayed at the mile for the fillies and mares. “I think she is a really good, genuine chance.” Rounding out Bergerson’s Trentham representation will be Charlotte’s Way (NZ) (Pentire) in the Herrick Perry Memorial 1400. “She is a drop back horse from 75 rating back to 65, so I thought I would give the owners a shot at $65,000, which is probably better than going around for $18,500,” Bergerson said. “She is a quirky mare, she has probably jumped 100 pony fences this week. Her work on Tuesday morning was tip-top on the course proper. “She has got a good jockey (Elliot) and a good draw (3), so hopefully she can put her hand up.” View the full article
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