Australia took the spoils in Saturday’s eagerly anticipated trans-Tasman sprint clash at Te Rapa as Here To Shock and Bosustow filled the quinella in the Group 1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m).
The presence of 11-race winner Here To Shock and last-start Magic Millions Guineas (1400m) hero Bosustow added international spice to an elite field of sprinters, which also featured top-flight Kiwi talent such as Grail Seeker, Savaglee, Luberon, Waitak and Babylon Berlin. But in the end, the local contingent was unable to repel the Australian invasion.
Here To Shock broke only fairly from gate eight, but his star Australian jockey Nash Rawiller allowed him to stride forward down Te Rapa’s long back straight and move into second spot on the outside of Savaglee.
Free-going mare Babylon Berlin took up her usual front-running role and clearly led the field up to the home turn, when Here To Shock cruised up alongside her.
Rawiller turned his mount loose after the 300m mark and the $500,000 race was all over. Here To Shock roared away, opening up a four-length winning margin.
Bosustow finished strongly out of the pack to take second in an all-Australian quinella. Standout three-year-old Savaglee was a long head away in a gallant third, with the same margin back to the fourth-placed Waitak.
2025 Group 1 BCD Group Sprint Replay – Here To Shock
Here To Shock was the only ride at Te Rapa on Saturday for Rawiller, who is easing back into riding after dislocating his shoulder in a fall on the Sunshine Coast in early January.
“I’m rapt to come and win a Group One in New Zealand today,” he said. “I’ve had success whenever I’ve come here in the past.
“I’ve had a month off with a bad shoulder injury. I’ve tried to do all the right things coming back from that. I just thought he was the perfect horse to come over and kick off on. It puts a smile on your face when they don’t let you down.”
Here To Shock has now had 35 starts for 12 wins, seven placings and more than $2.6 million in stakes. He has won three of his five starts as a seven-year-old this season, including the A$1.5 million Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) and the A$1 million The Supernova (1400m).
“I’m a bit blown away by him,” Rawiller said. “He’s shown that he can do that. He’s just racing with so much confidence now and has won some very good races in this preparation.
“You sense he could go back to Australia and be very competitive in a Group One while he’s fit and confident and others might still be on their way up. He’s really got his tail up, this horse. He’s turned his career around and he just gives you a lot of confidence going forward.”
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