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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
After taking on elite opposition all season, Sacred Satono (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) stepped down in class and scored a deserved victory in the Elsdon Park (1300m) at Ellerslie on Saturday. The $65,000 open handicap was the first time Sacred Satono has raced below Group or Listed level in his five-year-old preparation. His seven previous starts produced a seventh in the Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m), third in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m), second in the Gr.3 Counties Bowl (1100m), fourth in the Gr.3 Concorde Stakes (1200m), second in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m), ninth in the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) and third in the Gr.3 King’s Plate (1200m). Saturday’s easier assignment brought an increase in weight to a hefty 62kg, but apprentice jockey Triston Moodley provided some relief with his 2kg claim. Sacred Satono settled just behind midfield and a couple off the fence through the early stages of the race, and he had only three behind him coming up to the 600m mark. Moodley angled Sacred Satono wider approaching the home turn and pounced at the top of the straight, striding up purposefully on the outside of Merchant Queen (Merchant Navy), Bak Da Angel (NZ) (Ace High), Pericles (NZ) (Rubick) and You Say D’Orsay (Under The Louvre). Moodley drove Sacred Satono to the front, but he was matched stride for stride by a gallant You Say D’Orsay, who had also endured a wide run after jumping from gate 10. That pair drew away to fight out a tight finish, with Sacred Satono lunging at the line and winning by a head. You Say D’Orsay finished a length and three-quarters ahead of the third-placed Grande Gallo (NZ) (Belardo). “I was very impressed with his performance today,” said Grant Cooksley, who trains Sacred Satono in partnership with Bruce Wallace. “He drew one of the outside gates and was caught wide for quite a lot of the race and had to cover plenty of ground. For him to still finish it off the way he did, fight hard and get the win was a good effort. “It was nice to step down in class and put a win on the board today, but I don’t think it was a case of him needing a confidence boost or anything like that. He’s always had plenty of confidence and competitiveness and tries his best every time he goes out on the track.” From 30 starts, Sacred Satono has now recorded seven wins and 10 placings including Group Three successes in the Counties Bowl (1100m) and Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m). He has earned $655,578 in stakes. Wallace and Cooksley will now consider a shot at the $150,000 Gr.3 Manco Easter Handicap (1600m) at Ellerslie on April 19. “Depending on how he comes through this, we could have a look at the Easter,” Cooksley said. “There’s not a lot else around for a horse like him at this time of year, so if we don’t go there, he’ll probably go out for a break and we’ll save him for next season.” Sacred Satono was bred by Archer Equine Investments and is by Rich Hill Stud stallion Satono Aladdin out of the Mellifont mare Belle Joie. Herself a six-time winner over 1200m and 1300m, Belle Joie is the dam of four winners, with Sacred Satono backed by the Group Three-placed Simbaah. Belle Joie is a half-sister to 10-time Group One winner Mufhasa (NZ) (Pentire) and to the dam of triple Group One winner Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux). Sacred Satono was offered by Rich Hill Stud in Book 1 of Karaka 2022, where Wallace Thoroughbreds bought him for $34,000. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The form out of New Zealand’s newest and richest race stood tall on one of Australia’s biggest stages when Evaporate (NZ) (Per Incanto) won the Gr.3 HKJC World Pool Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) on the opening day of The Championships at Randwick on Saturday. Evaporate’s last start was in the inaugural $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie on March 8, where he was a gallant runner-up behind Te Akau Racing filly Damask Rose. The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained Evaporate had previously been a top-flight performer in Melbourne. He began his three-year-old season with four straight wins including the Gr.2 Stutt Stakes (1600m), then finished third in the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m), third in the Gr.2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) and fourth behind elite weight-for-age opposition in February’s Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1400m). Saturday’s Carbine Club Stakes was billed as a two-horse race between Evaporate and the Gr.1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) and Rosehill Guineas (2000m) placegetter Swiftfalcon (Exceedance) but Evaporate came out convincingly on top. Evaporate was ridden on Saturday by Blake Shinn, who had been his NZB Kiwi conqueror with a masterful ground-saving ride on Damask Rose (NZ) (Savabeel). Shinn slotted Evaporate into second in the Carbine Club Stakes, sitting four lengths adrift of the free-going leader Shangri La Spring (Castelvecchio) coming down the side of the track. Evaporate began to eat into that margin approaching the home turn, and then the Per Incanto gelding cruised past Shangri La Spring with 250m to run. A quality turn of foot carried Evaporate well clear, putting an insurmountable margin between himself and the favourite Swiftfalcon. That runner warmed into his work and gained ground late in the piece, but Evaporate was still two lengths in front of him at the finish line. “He felt amazing,” Shinn said. “This is a really good horse. He’s proven that he’s on the cusp of Group One level. I think he is a Group One horse in the making. “He ran great in the Kiwi. I said to the guys that I owe them one after that race, and he came here today in really good order. Everything worked in his favour and he showed his true class. “He’s mixed it with the best horses in our land and been competitive. It was probably a step back in class a little bit today, and it was just great to get the ride and win in these colours. They’re probably some of my favourite people, Francis and Christine Cook, and it’s just an honour to win for them.” Evaporate has now had 14 starts for five wins, five placings and A$1.46 million in stakes. “He’s a horse that we’ve always had a high opinion of,” Ben Hayes said. “He ran third in a Caulfield Guineas, and this prep he hadn’t had much luck. His first three runs he had excuses. He got caught three-wide in the weight-for-age Group One. Over in the Kiwi, we were a little bit unlucky and got shuffled back. “Today, in a smaller field, Blake was able to get him into a great rhythm. He just gave Swiftfalcon too much to do and he was strong to the line. But he was carrying the two extra kilos and he won quite convincingly, so we’re thrilled. I’m thrilled for the whole team. Will and JD, they’ll be very happy in Melbourne. “He’s going into his four-year-old year next season and there’s a really nice race in Sydney called the Golden Eagle (1500m). We haven’t mapped out a path or anything, I haven’t spoken to my brothers, but that would be a Grand Final kind of race to get to, and he’s done a great job this prep. He’s travelled to New Zealand, travelled back, and he’s just thrived. He looks to have pulled up fantastic.” Evaporate was bred by Little Avondale Stud, home to Per Incanto, a son of Street Cry who has sired nine Group One winners and 33 stakes winners to date including recent Group One heroics by Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto)in Melbourne and Gringotts (NZ) (Per Incanto) in Sydney. The dam of Evaporate is the unraced Animal Kingdom mare Savanna, whose two foals to race have both been winners. Savanna’s half-sister Belluci Babe (NZ) ( Per Incanto) carried the Little Avondale colours to Group Three success in Australia for trainer Bjorn Baker, and Little Avondale will offer her colt foal by Zoustar as Lot 297 in this week’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Evaporate was bought by Lindsay Park Racing for A$330,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2023. Little Avondale’s Sam and Catriona Williams retained a share in the ownership of Evaporate, and they were on course for his Carbine Club Stakes success at Randwick on Saturday. “This is what it’s all about,” Sam Williams said. “We’re on the international stage. We’re at The Championships. We’re on the cusp of the Easter Sale, where we’re offering a close relative to Evaporate and a number of Per Incanto yearlings. So it’s just fantastic and I’m so proud of the horse. “The New Zealand form has held up with this result, and our horses really do outperform themselves in Australia compared to their numbers. It’s fantastic for the industry, fantastic for the stud, fantastic for the stallion, and go the Kiwis for the rest of the carnival.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Cambridge mare Val Di Zoldo (NZ) (War Decree) bounced backed to winning form after a lengthy hiatus away from the top step of the podium as she took out the Gr.3 Intowin.co.nz Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2050m) in a desperate finish at Wanganui. The Tony Pike-prepared daughter of War Decree had looked a filly of real quality during her two and three-year-old campaigns that saw her take out the Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2100m) amongst a number of fine performances. However, it had been over two years since she saluted the judge in the Lowland Stakes and she broke that drought in fine fashion on Saturday with a display of real grit for rider Lily Sutherland. Race favourite Our Jumala (NZ) (Zed) was allowed to set a farcically slow pace in front of her six rivals for the majority of the contest before things began to get serious with 600m to run. Sutherland had Val Di Zoldo sitting nicely in fourth and headed to the outskirts of the track turning for home where she joined Our Jumala, Royal Flower (NZ) (Proisir) and Khanshe (NZ) (Mongolian Khan) as that quartet set down to a torrid struggle. Calling on all her reserves Val Di Zoldo rallied to thrust her head in front at just the right time to hold out a desperate finish from Nigella Lane (NZ) (Niagara), who dived through a narrow gap to snatch second from Royal Flower and Our Jumala who were almost in line for third. Pike stable representative Miranda Duthie cut a relieved figure as she welcomed the five-year-old mare back to the winners’ enclosure. “She has always had ability, but she has been unlucky and is probably the unluckiest mare in New Zealand,” Duthie said. “She was unlucky in the Cuddle Stakes (Gr.3, 1600m) last time and in the Travis Stakes (Gr.2, 2000m) when Bill’s (Pinn) stirrup leather broke. “I’m just so rapt for her owner and the sable as she is just one of the easiest horses to work with and she is one of my favourites.” Bred by the late Kevin Hickman, Val Di Zoldo is raced by Robert and Kim De Courcy under their Kinsale Bloodstock banner after she was purchased for $285,000 by Bruce Sherwin out of the Valachi Downs Unreserved Young & Racing Stock Dispersal sale. Her dam is the Thorn Park mare Civetta and amongst her extended family is the star performer Fun On The Run (NZ) (Racing is fun) who won 18 races with five at stakes level including the 1989 running of the Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes. Val Di Zoldo has now won three of her 30 starts and just under $240,000 in prizemoney. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh was expected to dominate proceedings in Saturday’s Barfoot & Thompson 1500 (1500m) at Ellerslie and did just that by filling the trifecta in the event, however the win by progressive galloper Penman (NZ) (Contributer) was not without incident after he was promoted ahead of stablemate Erin Go Bragh (NZ) (Vadamos), who had crossed the line ahead of him. Punters had expected topweight Penman, who had contested the rich $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at his most recent start, to be the hardest to beat as he started a warm $2.10 favourite ahead of stablemates Bourbon Proof (NZ) (Justify) ($4.40) and Dramatic Miss (NZ) (El Roca) ($6.10) in the nine-horse field. However, Erin Go Bragh ($11.80) certainly wasn’t aware he was supposed to finish behind his comrades as he jumped beautifully for rider Tegan Newman, who took the bull by the horns and set up a steady pace at the head of affairs. Erin Go Bragh shot clear heading for home and still held a handy two length buffer on his hard chasing rivals, headed by Penman, Altari (NZ) (Savabeel) and Dramatic Miss, at the 200m however he started to drift away from the rail at that point and badly hampered both Altari and Penman within sight of the winning post. The Judicial committee open an inquiry into the interference caused by the winner at the 100m and with plenty of evidence from the head on vision showing the dramatic movement by Erin Go Bragh, they changed the placings to elevate Penman from second to first with Dramatic Miss finishing close up in third ahead of Toruk Makto (NZ) (Eminent) and the desperately unlucky Altari. Marsh watched the race from Sydney where he was putting the final raceday polish on talented three-year-old filly Love Poem (Snitzel) who tackled the Australian fillies in the Gr.3 PJ Bell Stakes (1200m) on the first day of the Championships at Randwick. “He is a bloody good horse this guy and he is going through the grades,” Marsh said. “He is handling things so well and he freshened up nicely after the NZB Kiwi, so were confident he could go well today. “Erin Go Bragh is also a nice horse in the making but he still is quite green and has a lot to learn. He is coming along well and that run will help bring him on even further.” Marsh will wait to see how Penman recovers from the effort before deciding on any future plans, however he does have a possible Queensland Winter Carnival campaign in mind. “He will go home and take it easy for a few days, but if he comes through it like I hope he will then Brisbane in the winter is a real possibility,” he said. “He just keeps getting better and I think he could be very competitive if we do end up sending him over there.” Penman carries the familiar colours of Albert Bosma and the Go Racing Penman Syndicate who share in his ownership with Toro Bloodstock after they purchased the son of Contributor out of the Book 1 Sale at Karaka in 2023 for $60,000. He is out of the O’Reilly mare Update, a sister to talented mare Irlanda who won three times at stakes level, while also included in his extended family are multiple Australian Group One winner Mo’unga (Savabeel) and Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) winner Chenille (NZ) (Pentire). He has now won four of his seven starts and more than $214,000 in prizemoney. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Group One winner He’s A Doozy (NZ) (Zacinto) snapped a sequence of disappointing performances with a three-length runaway in the Wanganui-Taranaki Racehorse Owners Association Open (1600m) at Wanganui on Saturday. The Zacinto gelding was one of the standouts of the central districts as a five-year-old two seasons ago, winning the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) and Gr.3 Thompson Handicap (1600m) at Trentham along with a successful southern raid on the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) at Riccarton. He’s A Doozy added an open handicap victory over 1600m at Trentham in March of last year, followed by a second in the Gr.2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m), but was unplaced in all of his seven other starts in that campaign. That trend continued into his seven-year-old season, finishing no closer than fourth in his first 10 appearances of 2024-25. But that all changed on Saturday. Trainer Lisa Latta came into the $50,000 feature with cautious optimism that He’s A Doozy might be back on his game, and his performance proved her absolutely right. Jockey Kelly Myers pushed He’s A Doozy forward out of the gates and took up a position in second behind the front-running favourite Khafre (American Pharoah). He’s A Doozy cruised up alongside Khafre and appeared to be travelling better than that runner coming up to the home turn, and then he pounced at the top of the straight. Myers asked He’s A Doozy for full effort and he kicked away, opening up a three-length margin over Khafre and the late-finishing Chase. “We definitely haven’t seen anything like that from him all season,” Latta said. “But he looked fantastic in the parade ring today, bright in the eye and in the coat. “I said to Kelly that I wanted us to go forward and be right there turning in. Being a bit older, the bit of moisture in the ground has probably helped him today and he’s won really well.” Saturday’s performance was a sharp turnaround from He’s A Doozy’s last-start run at Riccarton on March 22, where he finished at the back of a 10-horse field and more than 16 lengths from the winner. “I had the vet go over him down south, and she thought he might have been having an allergic reaction,” Latta said. “We gave him a bit of treatment. I thought we had him pretty spot-on coming into today.” He’s A Doozy has been a superb performer for Latta, who bought him for $70,000 from Phoenix Park’s draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2019. He has now had 44 starts for 10 wins, five placings and $655,575 in stakes. Now that He’s A Doozy is back in the winning groove, Latta is keen to chase a Listed prize at Awapuni on April 25. “We’ll probably go to the Anzac Mile (1600m) next, and then we’ll just see what the weather’s doing before making any other plans,” she said. View the full article
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