Australians triumph in sprint showdown

[Wandering Eyes]

Australia took the spoils in Saturday’s eagerly anticipated trans-Tasman sprint clash at Te Rapa as Here To Shock (NZ) (Shocking) and Bosustow (Blue Point) filled the quinella in the Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m).

The presence of 11-race winner Here To Shock and last-start Magic Millions Guineas (1400m) hero Bosustow added international spice to an elite field of sprinters, which also featured top-flight Kiwi talent such as Grail Seeker (NZ) (Iffraaj), Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel), Luberon (NZ) (Embellish), Waitak (NZ) (Proisir) and Babylon Berlin (All Too Hard). But in the end, the local contingent was unable to repel the Australian invasion.

Here To Shock broke only fairly from gate eight, but his star Australian jockey Nash Rawiller allowed him to stride forward down Te Rapa’s long back straight and move into second spot on the outside of Savaglee.

Free-going mare Babylon Berlin took up her usual front-running role and clearly led the field up to the home turn, when Here To Shock cruised up alongside her.

Rawiller turned his mount loose after the 300m mark and the $500,000 race was all over. Here To Shock roared away, opening up a four-length winning margin.

Bosustow finished strongly out of the pack to take second in an all-Australian quinella. Standout three-year-old Savaglee was a long head away in a gallant third, with the same margin back to the fourth-placed Waitak.

Here To Shock was the only ride at Te Rapa on Saturday for Rawiller, who is easing back into riding after dislocating his shoulder in a fall on the Sunshine Coast in early January.

“I’m rapt to come and win a Group One in New Zealand today,” he said. “I’ve had success whenever I’ve come here in the past.

“I’ve had a month off with a bad shoulder injury. I’ve tried to do all the right things coming back from that. I just thought he was the perfect horse to come over and kick off on. It puts a smile on your face when they don’t let you down.”

Here To Shock has now had 35 starts for 12 wins, seven placings and more than $2.6 million in stakes. He has won three of his five starts as a seven-year-old this season, including the A$1.5 million Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) and the A$1 million The Supernova (1400m).

“I’m a bit blown away by him,” Rawiller said. “He’s shown that he can do that. He’s just racing with so much confidence now and has won some very good races in this preparation.

“You sense he could go back to Australia and be very competitive in a Group One while he’s fit and confident and others might still be on their way up. He’s really got his tail up, this horse. He’s turned his career around and he just gives you a lot of confidence going forward.”

Here To Shock’s part-owner Rob Slade paid just $70,000 to buy him from Cambridge Stud’s draft at Karaka in 2019. He is trained by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, who are also lining up a shot at the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie next month with Evaporate.

“It’s so special to come here and win this race,” Will Hayes said. “I’m just so proud of the team and everyone back home. This horse presented so well on raceday today and it was a terrific ride by Nash.

“It’s my first time here at Te Rapa, but with that long run into the first corner, it gave Here To Shock a nice chance to find his rhythm and get across when he could. He got a bit of cover. He was slightly overdoing it early, but as the race went on, he got more and more comfortable and then gave a good kick at the top of the straight. He was really dominant today.

“We picked out this race and came over because we thought he was well placed. It’s good to see the form stand up. He’s replicated that good form from his Supernova win. He’s incredibly consistent.

“We can’t thank New Zealand racing enough. With the prize-money on offer, it was a no-brainer to come here today. It was a hit-and-run mission on this race, because we’ve got some plans for him in the autumn in either Melbourne or Sydney. We’ll just space his runs, because we know that works for him.

“But we’re looking forward to coming back over again next month with Evaporate (NZ) (Per Incanto). Let’s hope we can pinch another one.”

Both the BCD Group Sprint and Pakenham’s Supernova are legs of the Sport Nation Champion Sprint Series, which concludes with the Gr.3 King’s Plate (1200m) at Ellerslie on March 8. Here To Shock has now earned 10 points, which gives him an equal lead alongside Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) winner Crocetti (NZ) (Zacinto).

Here To Shock completed an incredible Group One double at Te Rapa on Saturday for Rich Hill Stud stallion Shocking, who also sired the equally dominant Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) winner El Vencedor (NZ).

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