Hawera double caps dream week for connections

[Wandering Eyes]

A special week got even better on Saturday for trainer Robbie Patterson and owner-breeders Eddie and Nicola Bourke and Allan Piercy.

They teamed up for back-to-back victories at Hawera with The Hottie in the Gr.3 Grangewilliam Stud Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) and Belles Beau in the Energy Ford Hawera (1400m). That winning double came only four days after the rescheduled Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) at Matamata on Wednesday, which Patterson, the Bourkes and Piercy won with One Bold Cat.

“I thought any win here today would top the week off nicely, but two wins including a Group Three is even better,” Patterson said. “And the Breeders’ Stakes is a very cool race to win for us as well, being Taranaki kids. It’s fantastic.”

The Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes was a triumphant return to racing for The Hottie. The seven-year-old has now won six times in a 16-start career, placing on another five occasions and banking $195,995.

The chestnut daughter of Swiss Ace showed bright promise last season, scoring three smart wins along with a third in the Gr.3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m) at Trentham. But she bled when finishing at the tail of the field as a $2.90 favourite in the Listed Great Easter Stakes (1400m) at Riccarton in April.

Just under six months on from that low point of her career, The Hottie lined up for her first start since then and came away with her biggest win.

“She’s been hard work all her life, this horse,” Patterson said. “She’s always had a lot of issues. She bled in her last start at Riccarton. For her to come back and win this today is a massive effort.

A smiling Courtney Barnes after her victory aboard The Hottie
Photo credit: Peter Rubery Race Images

“I haven’t done a lot with her, actually. I just gave her a quiet trial on Tuesday, and that’s about all she’s done. She always goes well fresh, so I tried to leave her in that state. She’s just a really good horse, and when she’s right, she’s lethal.”

The Hottie was ridden by Courtney Barnes and was a step slow leaving the starting gates, but she soon recovered and moved up into fourth behind Town Cryer, Wessex and Diss Is Dramatic.

Town Cryer and Wessex rounded the turn together and seemed set to fight out the finish, but then The Hottie pounced. She finished over the top of those two rivals and pulled ahead in the final 150m, winning by a length and a quarter. Defending champion Town Cryer held on for second, a nose in front of Wessex and the strong-finishing Liffey.

“The race panned out really well,” said Barnes, who has now ridden 11 Group or Listed winners. “She didn’t jump that great, but she was able to recover well and then travelled sweetly from there.

“There was quite a bit of speed in the race on paper, but they didn’t go as hard as I thought they might. I think being in a handy position helped, and I knew from the moment we came around the corner that we were pretty much home.”

Patterson identified the Gr.3 Thompson Handicap (1600m) at Trentham on October 27 as The Hottie’s potential next target.

“There’s a Group Three mile coming up in a few weeks’ time that we can have a look at, and then there are some nice races for fillies and mares through the late spring and summer as well,” the New Plymouth trainer said. “She could even be competitive in a Group Two or Group One mile somewhere.”

Just over half an hour after The Hottie’s black-type success, Belles Beau produced an impressive performance of his own in Rating 75 company. He outfinished Boomtown Boy and Herbert in a tight struggle down the straight, winning by a head.

Belles Beau has now recorded three wins and two placings from just a six-start career, earning $58,145 in stakes. The four-year-old Iffraaj gelding is a full-brother to talented stablemate Belles Fate, who herself has won twice in a five-start career including on the first day of the Hawke’s Bay Spring carnival last month.

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