Group Three performer Waihaha Falls (NZ) (Sacred Falls) has returned to the care of co-breeder and part-owner Guy Lowry and is set to make his New Zealand debut for the Hawke’s Bay trainer at Trentham on Sunday.
Lowry bred the now seven-year-old gelding in partnership with Waikato Stud, and the gelding showed a lot of early promise, winning a 1000m trial at Foxton, which persuaded the partnership to send the son of Sacred Falls over to Sydney to race for trainer John O’Shea.
He was a consistent performer across the Tasman, winning five and placing in five of his 22 starts, and earned more than A$550,000 in prizemoney, with his highlights including a runner-up performance in last year’s Gr.3 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m), and placing in two editions of the Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m).
He last raced at Newcastle in April, and the decision was made to bring him back to New Zealand to see out his racing career.
“He did very well in Australia,” Lowry said. “We just chased a bit of prizemoney over there and he was probably unlucky not to win the Sydney Stakes (Gr.3, 1200m), which is a $2 million race, which he ran fourth in and had no luck. He has always shown a lot.
“He had a few feet problems and that is one of the reasons why we brought him back, to get his feet right and we think they are in pretty good shape.
“He is at an age where he would start enjoying it back here more hopefully, and we just wanted to have some fun with him back here.”
Waihaha Falls placed in his resuming trial over 1000m at Foxton earlier this month, and Lowry, who trains in partnership with Leah Zydenbos, is looking forward to him making his New Zealand debut in the WRC Life Members 1000 on Sunday.
“1000m is probably too short for him, but it will be a nice warm-up for him if we decide to go down south for the Stewards (Listed, 1200m),” Lowry said.
While a stakes target is tempting, Lowry said his gelding would only make the trip to Riccarton if they were going to be met by suitable track conditions.
“We will just monitor him because he is very well. We would only go down if the tracks were damp,” he said.
However, if things were to go their way, Lowry hasn’t ruled out an elite-level target over summer.
“If he happened to go alright there, we may think of a Telegraph (Gr.1, 1200m), but at that time of year we are unlikely to get the tracks that we would like,” he said.
“We are just taking each day as it comes.”
The stable will also be represented at Trentham by Testwin in the David Butler Memorial 1600 and debutant Hollywood Drift in the Happy Hire 1400.
Zydenbos is particularly excited about the latter, who she owns in partnership with breeder Tony Rider of Milan Park.
“Hollywood Drift is a very nice three-year-old who will be competitive,” Lowry said. “It is a big ask going into a set weights and penalties, but the horse is going alright so we will just take it along quietly.
“He won a trial earlier this month, he has trained on, and he shows good promise.
“Leah part-owns the horse with Tony, who is really good at giving young people a go. It gives her a bit of an incentive.”
