Slot holder Daniel Nakhle has a key chance for the locals in Saturday’s $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), but his focus will also lie much earlier on the card on Champions Day, with his star sprinter Crocetti contesting the Group 3 King’s Plate (1200m).
The Auckland businessman is the breeder-owner of Zacinto gelding, the Group 1-winning three-year-old who earned his stripes at four with an emphatic last-gasp victory over Alabama Lass in the Group 1 Railway (1200m) on Karaka Millions Night at Ellerslie.
Nakhle reflected fondly on that success, particularly after his gelding gained such a reputation earlier on in his career.
“It was such an exciting win, a nail-biter,” he said.
“It was back to the Crocetti that we saw last season, the team had him absolutely cherry-ripe on the day and Warren (Kennedy, jockey) making the suggestion of putting blinkers on certainly worked the oracle.
“He had a pretty easy time of it as a three-year-old and got away with not doing it at 100 percent, so up against the big boys and girls, the blinkers kept him focussed and back in the winner’s circle.”
Bypassing the Group 1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) last month, Crocetti will return to Ellerslie on Saturday for a re-match with Alabama Lass, the filly currently favoured in the market at $2.
“He pulled up very well after the Railway,” Nakhle said.
“Danny (Walker) and Arron (Tata, trainers) decided to keep him fresh for his 1200m assignments, so he had a good eight days out in the paddock at Byerley Park and he really enjoyed his break.
“He’s relatively fresh, he went to Ellerslie on Monday morning for a gallop and just had a nice easy piece of work with Warren on board. He wasn’t after time, just a pipe-opener for him to keep him up to the mark. He did that very well and looking at him, he was very hard to pull up, so that’s always a good sign.
“He’s had a lovely build-up leading into the King’s Plate.”
Crocetti is also in line for a lucrative bonus if he can deliver in the $250,000 contest, as a front-runner in the Sport Nation Champion Sprint Series.
The son of Zacinto sits on 10 points ahead of race-rivals Sacred Satono and Babylon Berlin (7), and finishing in the first two placings would assure him the $300,000 winning purse.
Later on in the afternoon, Nakhle will have a different role to play, this time as a part of the Barneswood/Brady/Nakhle slot holder partnership in the $3.5 million The NZB Kiwi (1500m).
In mid-February, the group announced they had selected Penman to fill their slot, a decision that has been well-justified as the gelding defeated the older horses at Ellerslie on Avondale Cup Day.
Nakhle has enjoyed the experience on offer for slot holders, and has confidence the Stephen Marsh-trained son of Contributer can make his presence felt in the southern hemisphere’s richest three-year-old race.
“It’s been really cool, we’ve got a fantastic ownership group within the slot, and everyone is putting their opinion in, each person sees it from a different angle,” he said.
“Whether that be sectionals or by eye, but this horse was actually one that we all agreed on and really liked.
“It was a pretty easy decision to make after his run two starts ago and that was franked against the older horses a couple of days after we announced him.
“The Go Racing team, Matt (Allnutt) and Albert (Bosma), as well as Stephen Marsh and Dylan Johnson have been fantastic to work in with, they are a very professional bunch. As much as you’re backing the horse, you’re also backing the team around him, and we have confidence that we have a horse with a real chance.”
In an Australian-dominated market for the NZB Kiwi, Penman is rated a $23 chance, with the Ben, Will, and JD Hayes-trained Evaporate on top at $2.40.
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