Author: NZRacingDesk

There’s plenty of excitement building towards this evening’s TAB Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie, which has been further enhanced by an NZB Kiwi slot announcement on a leading contender in the $1.5 million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m). Undefeated three-year-old Dealt With (NZ), who is a $6.50 third favourite for tonight’s mile feature, has been secured for the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) by Slot Holders Kerri Spence Bloodstock and Clotworthy Racing. The son of Ace High has made a monumental rise in the last month, winning on debut at…

Trainers Robert Wellwood and Roger James will be out to continue their stranglehold on the Karaka Millions 3YO at Ellerslie on Saturday. The partners have trained the past two winners of the race, with Prowess (NZ) (Proisir) saluting in 2023 and Orchestral (NZ) (Savabeel) blowing rivals away in the 2024 edition. This year, they saddle up undefeated gelding Dealt With (NZ) (Ace High) in the rich feature. The son of Ace High has made an immediate impression, winning the first two starts of his career, but faces his biggest test…

Stephen Marsh is no stranger to Karaka Millions success, and the Cambridge trainer believes his team for the 2025 edition at Ellerslie on Saturday could be his best yet. Marsh is a two-time winner of the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) with Ruud Awakening (2013) and Velocious (2024). He has no runners in the juvenile showpiece this year, but will instead saddle nine runners across the other five feature races. “In terms of numbers and depth, this has to be the best team we’ve taken into Karaka Millions night,” Marsh said.…

Standout middle-distance mare Snazzytavi (NZ) (Tavistock) is set to shoot for a Group One treble after pleasing her connections at Thursday’s Pukekohe trials. Racing in the colours of Cambridge Stud owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay, the daughter of Tavistock has won four of her five starts this season including top-flight triumphs in the Livamol Classic (2040m) at Te Rapa in October and the Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. She also won the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) in early December. Snazzytavi’s next assignment is the Gr.1 Herbie…

Andrew Forsman has a key hope to add another $1.5 million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) trophy to his cabinet at Ellerslie on Saturday. In 2021, Forsman and his former training partner Murray Baker won the race with formidable three-year-old Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls), downing another class galloper in Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel). On Saturday, Forsman will chase the title with a pair of runners, the first of those being Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1400m) winner Yaldi (NZ) (Ardrossan). The son of Ardrossan is a stakes performer in Australia and a key…

Goldie’s Chance (NZ) (Iffraaji) was luckless at her latest appearance and a return to her home track on Saturday will present her with the ideal stage to turn her fortunes around. The daughter of Iffraaj will head a two-pronged attack on the Listed Speight’s Timaru Stakes (1200m) for trainer Anna Furlong with former northerner Tanzanite Rose (NZ) (Burgundy) also in contention. Goldie’s Chance was runner-up on the course three runs back in an open handicap and then finished a sound third in the Gr.3 Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) before she…

Hollie Wynyard knows what it takes to win a $1 million TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), and on Saturday at Ellerslie she’ll be vying for her first crown as a solo trainer with Toretto (NZ) (Ardrossan) and Sierra Leone (NZ) (Sun City). Back in 2014, Wynyard played an instrumental role in the triumph of Vespa, who was trained by Johno Benner. The pair subsequently trained in partnership for a number of years, and in that period, won the inaugural running of the $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) with Scott…

Te Akau boss David Ellis predicts an influx of Australian jockeys making hit-and-run missions to New Zealand in coming years. Speaking at the barrier draw for Saturday’s Karaka Millions meeting, the leviathan owner said the rise in NZ’s prizemoney and the retirement of legendary hoop Opie Bosson mean making a trans-Tasman trip is more appealing than it may have been in previous years. Blake Shinn and Craig Williams will ride at Saturday’s feature meeting, while superstar hoops Mark Zahra and James McDonald rode there in 2024. “I think with our…

The best of his time and the likes of which we will never see again are just two of the many accolades being showered on Octagonal in the week announcing the champion galloper’s induction to the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame. Octagonal raced during an era of great horses, living up to his blue-blooded pedigree and magnificent conformation with 10 Group One wins from two to four years. A member of the first crop of Zabeel from iconic broodmare Eight Carat, he was the champion Australian two-year-old of 1994-95…

A wink could turn into the lion’s share of $1 million for trainer Gavin Sharrock on Saturday when he contests the TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) with Daylight Robbery (NZ) (Super Seth). The two-year-old son of Super Seth is aptly named, with Sharrock paying just $10,500 for the colt out of Waikato Stud’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Online Yearling Sale on Gavelhouse Plus last year, after he was passed in at Karaka after failing to reach his $70,000 reserve. Sharrock was taken by the colt when watching his video online,…