Deserved win for Volks Lightning as broodmare sale looms

[Chief Stipe]

In what could be her last two months in the Team Rogerson stable, the frequently unlucky sprinter Volks Lightning picked up a second stakes win in today’s Listed Gavelhouse.com Lightning Handicap at Trentham.

The Volksraad mare had previously beaten Indecision and Julius for a deserved win in the Gr. 3 Sweynesse Stakes at Rotorua in the spring, and her CV also features black-type placings in the Gr. 1 Sistema Railway and the Gr. 3 Concorde Handicap, Darley Plate, Mr Tiz Trophy and Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes, along with countless other luckless and close-up performances in feature sprints.

“I think the owners are looking to take her to the broodmare sale on the Gold Coast later this year (May 28 to 31),” co-trainer Bailey Rogerson said.

“This Listed win will look good on the page and add to her value. She deserved this, she’s been consistent all the way through in these Group and Listed races. It’s really good to get the win today.”

Volks Lightning was an unlucky fourth in the Gr. 3 Waikato Stud Plate at Ellerslie last start, held up for a run from the 300-metre mark until the last 100 metres. She still finished within 1.6 lengths of the impressive winner, Princess Kereru.

Today Volks Lightning was well and truly up for the rematch. The weights were in her favour, going from 54 to 54.5 kilograms while Princess Kereru went from 53 to 56, and this time she turned the tables on her Ellerslie conqueror.

The two mares emerged side by side early in the run down the home straight, sprinting up beside the front-running Ferrando.

Princess Kereru produced another big-hearted performance in between the two Team Rogerson runners, but it was Volks Lightning’s day. She scored by a head, with the defending Lightning champion Ferrando another long head behind Princess Kereru in third.

“She’s been scratching for one all season, so she really deserved to get this win,” jockey Ryan Elliot said.

“I just had to hold her up for as long as I could during the race before letting her go. She’s quite electric with the blinkers on.”

Bought for $60,000 as a yearling at Karaka, Volks Lightning is raced by former Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum’s Vermair Volks Lightning Syndicate. She has now had 34 starts for six wins, 10 placings and more than $228,000 in prize-money.

“Her heart takes her a long way and the owners have had a lot of fun with her,” Rogerson said.

The team was also happy with Ferrando, a Trentham specialist who added today’s Lightning placing to his win in last year’s race and his placings in the last two editions of the Gr. 1 Telegraph.

“He was very good today,” Rogerson said. “He’ll head to the paddock for a spell now and come back next year.”

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