Wanganui win sets up Cup back-up for Royal Flower

[Wandering Eyes]

Royal Flower’s (NZ) (Proisir) victory in the G Bristol & Sons 2040 at Wanganui on Saturday has earned her a black-type assignment over the same course and distance next weekend.

The seven-year-old Proisir mare produced an impressive performance in the $50,000 open handicap, dragging the field up to the tearaway leader Sagunto and hitting the front before the home turn. Royal Flower gave her rider Mereana Hudson everything she asked for down the straight, and she went on to win by a length and a quarter from runner-up Comedy.

Foxton owner-trainer-breeder Gail Temperton was delighted with Saturday’s performance and now plans to take Royal Flower back to Wanganui seven days later for the $80,000 Listed Steelform Roofing Group Wanganui Cup (2040m).

“It’s a big thrill any time you win a race, but that was a very good win by the horse and an amazingly good ride,” Temperton said. “Mereana was sitting down and pushing her along from quite early in the piece, and she really controlled the race from there. I was delighted with the ride and it was great to get the win.

“She’ll go to the Wanganui Cup next week, and then we’ll give her a longer gap between runs after that. It’s not my habit to back horses up as quickly as that, but she can do it. She hadn’t raced for a month until now, which makes it easier, so it’s not like we’re making her do these quick back-ups every time.”

A black-type win is the missing piece in Royal Flower’s CV. The Taikorea Thoroughbreds homebred has had 36 starts for eight wins, eight placings and $174,815 in stakes, including third placings in the last two editions of the Gr.3 Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2000m). She was beaten by three and a half lengths by Apostrophe in the 2024 Breeders’ Stakes, then returned in April of this year to be beaten by a neck and a half-head by Val Di Zoldo and Nigella Lane.

“She’s had those couple of black-type placings, doubling up and running third in the same race two years in a row,” Temperton said. “We’d really love to see her go a couple of placings better in a stakes race. That’s the aim.”

Rich Hill Stud offered Royal Flower during Book 2 of Karaka 2020, where she failed to meet her $15,000 reserve. She has now earned more than 11 times that amount for her owner-trainer-breeder.

View the full article