Fans of the New Zealand thoroughbred will get a special treat at Te Rapa this Saturday when the Waikato Racing Club host their aptly named Legends Raceday.
While the action on the track will see a number of the current crop of superstars ply their trade in races like the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m), there will no doubt be considerable interest in a line-up of past champions who will parade and lead the horses out for each of the races on the programme.
Highden Park principals Libby and Sam Bleakley are eagerly looking forward to travelling north with their two former champions in dual Hong Kong Horse of the Year Werther and Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winner Ping Hai Star, as they take a day off from their on-farm exertions at the lush Palmerston North property.
Both horses have been retired to a life of comfort at Highden Park and Bleakley is thrilled to be able to provide them with that opportunity.
“It goes without saying just how proud and delighted we are to have Sardine (Werther) and Ping here at Highden Park and living their best life,” Libby Bleakley said.
“Looking out at them in their paddock each morning brings a smile to my face and to be able to give them a loving forever home is our pleasure.
“They are here for the rest of their days and they share a paddock with a pair of well-known broodmares in Strictly Maternal and Bagalollies (dam of Werther).
“They all get on well and the two boys are absolute gentlemen with the girls.
“In fact, Ping is extremely protective of Strictly Maternal, who is 23 now, and makes sure she always gets her feed or hay first and he frets a little if they are taken away for any length of time during the day.”
Whilst they may be in retirement from their racing activities, both Werther and Ping Hai Star are naturals when it comes to a second career as “nannies” at the property while also providing a companion for any horses undergoing rehabilitation from injuries.
“Both of them love to be around the younger horses and are great at teaching the foals once they have been weaned off their mothers,” Bleakley said.
“Werther likes working with the colts while Ping is superb with the girls and the young ones learn so much.
“It’s quite comical when you see Werther leading them in from the paddock or the like as they tend to fall into line behind him like a row of ducks and just toddle along after him.
“They also make great companions when we have horses that have to be boxed during rehab.
“It’s amazing though how the old boys’ personalities change when they leave the company of the two mares. In that paddock they mooch around without a care in the world but put them in with the young ones and they are bucking and kicking like two-year-olds.”
Bleakley said that one of the guilty pleasures for the family is to replay some of the many racing highlights of both horses.
With Werther having won four races in New Zealand prior to a stint in Australia and Hong Kong, where his victories included the Gr.1 South Australian Derby (2500m), 2016 Hong Kong Derby and three additional Group One races plus a runner-up finish in the Gr.1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m) in Japan, there is plenty to choose from.
“Just looking at some of those highlight videos with Ping’s Derby win and Werther doing what he did, it gives me goosebumps,” Bleakley said.
“We all laugh when we watch the replay of the race in Japan as there are all these magnificent Japanese thoroughbreds and then there is plain old Sardine, but boy did he show them what he was made of and did us all proud.”
The competitive spirit is still more than alive in the pair with Bleakley knowing she and Sam will have their hands full at Te Rapa in the raceday environment.
“This is the second year they are heading to Te Rapa and last year was a real eye opener,” she said.
“They got on course and a switch just flicked and they were there to perform.
“They asked me to take Werther out on the track for the race he was leading out and I had to say no as he would have been off and gone, he was that full of himself.
“Ping was exactly the same so we know we could be in for a pretty torrid time, but it’s an experience you just wouldn’t miss as you see just how much they love it.”
The nine legends involved in the promotion are Seachange, Mufhasa, Xcellent, The Bostonian, Sacred Star, Ping Hai Star, Werther, Gingernuts and Sir Slick, with racing to commence around midday.
