Month: January 2021

In a titanic tussle that lived up to the pre-race hype, Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls) kept his perfect record intact with a thrilling win over Amarelinha in Saturday’s Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie. Although the million-dollar race attracted a full field of 17 three-year-olds, the build-up was completely dominated by two horses. One was Aegon, whose three-from-three record included the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton and Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) at Hastings. The other was Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel), a stunning last-start winner of the…

Andrew Bensley talks to some of the Australian based owners in the Triton Lennox Syndicate, which includes former racecaller Bryan Martin, who race Karaka Million 2YO winner On the Bubbles.

A brilliant performance by On The Bubbles (Brazen Beau), chased home by three of his stablemates, has added another chapter to trainer Jamie Richards and the Te Akau Racing team’s incredible dominance of the DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1200m). The undefeated Brazen Beau gelding overcame a horror draw for an emphatic victory at Ellerslie on Saturday, scoring by a length and three-quarters from stablemates Sneaky Shark (Capitalist), Avonallo (NZ) (Belardo) and Sophisticardo (NZ) (Burgundy). Richards and the Te Akau syndication juggernaut have now won the Karaka Million 2YO…

Classy three-year-old Need I Say More (No Nay Never) made his first run at Ellerslie a winning one when he lumped topweight of 60.5kgs to victory in the Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Almanzor Trophy (1200m), the first race on Karaka Million night. Carrying the familiar tangerine and orange silks of Te Akau Racing, colours that were to the fore throughout the evening, the son of No Nay Never had to be good to take the win after being caught three-wide throughout the 1200m contest. Rider Troy Harris never panicked as he…

Racing fans were left shaking their heads at Ellerslie on Saturday evening after witnessing exciting mare Levante (NZ) (Proisir) take out the Gr.2 Westbury Classic (1400m). For those who had never seen the Proisir four-year-old in action before, they could have been forgiven for ripping up their betting tickets up at the 600m as the $1.40 favourite was dead last in the ten-horse field and struggling to catch the runners immediately ahead of her. What happened next was succinctly summed up by Levante’s rider Sam Collett when she admitted later…

Connections of Riccarton visitor Showemhowitsdone (NZ) (Showcasing) had to endure some anxious moments before her victory in the Listed Liquorland Gore Guineas (1335m) was confirmed on Saturday. The Shane Kennedy and Anna Furlong-trained three-year-old narrowly defeated The Gift (NZ) (Power) in a driving finish to the day’s feature event but proved a handful in the closing stages as she shied at something on the inside of the track and ducked out sharply. Rider Terry Mosely quickly straightened the Showcasing filly, who had enough momentum to hold out a desperate dive…

Jamie Kah may be Melbourne’s leading rider, but those old connections are still paying off following the win of the now South Australian-based Second Slip (NZ) (Alamosa) scoring at Sandown on Saturday. A former premiership winner in SA, Kah has now won seven races from her past 20 for Adelaide-based trainer Will Clarken, who identified the 0-78 ratings race at Sandown as being ideal for the former Kiwi galloper as he would come in with a lower weight despite being eligible for weaker races. Punters were more than aware of…