Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh was expected to dominate proceedings in Saturday’s Barfoot & Thompson 1500 (1500m) at Ellerslie and did just that by filling the trifecta in the event, however the win by progressive galloper Penman (NZ) (Contributer) was not without incident after he was promoted ahead of stablemate Erin Go Bragh (NZ) (Vadamos), who had crossed the line ahead of him.
Punters had expected topweight Penman, who had contested the rich $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at his most recent start, to be the hardest to beat as he started a warm $2.10 favourite ahead of stablemates Bourbon Proof (NZ) (Justify) ($4.40) and Dramatic Miss (NZ) (El Roca) ($6.10) in the nine-horse field.
However, Erin Go Bragh ($11.80) certainly wasn’t aware he was supposed to finish behind his comrades as he jumped beautifully for rider Tegan Newman, who took the bull by the horns and set up a steady pace at the head of affairs.
Erin Go Bragh shot clear heading for home and still held a handy two length buffer on his hard chasing rivals, headed by Penman, Altari (NZ) (Savabeel) and Dramatic Miss, at the 200m however he started to drift away from the rail at that point and badly hampered both Altari and Penman within sight of the winning post.
The Judicial committee open an inquiry into the interference caused by the winner at the 100m and with plenty of evidence from the head on vision showing the dramatic movement by Erin Go Bragh, they changed the placings to elevate Penman from second to first with Dramatic Miss finishing close up in third ahead of Toruk Makto (NZ) (Eminent) and the desperately unlucky Altari.
Marsh watched the race from Sydney where he was putting the final raceday polish on talented three-year-old filly Love Poem (Snitzel) who tackled the Australian fillies in the Gr.3 PJ Bell Stakes (1200m) on the first day of the Championships at Randwick.
“He is a bloody good horse this guy and he is going through the grades,” Marsh said.
“He is handling things so well and he freshened up nicely after the NZB Kiwi, so were confident he could go well today.
“Erin Go Bragh is also a nice horse in the making but he still is quite green and has a lot to learn. He is coming along well and that run will help bring him on even further.”
Marsh will wait to see how Penman recovers from the effort before deciding on any future plans, however he does have a possible Queensland Winter Carnival campaign in mind.
“He will go home and take it easy for a few days, but if he comes through it like I hope he will then Brisbane in the winter is a real possibility,” he said.
“He just keeps getting better and I think he could be very competitive if we do end up sending him over there.”
Penman carries the familiar colours of Albert Bosma and the Go Racing Penman Syndicate who share in his ownership with Toro Bloodstock after they purchased the son of Contributor out of the Book 1 Sale at Karaka in 2023 for $60,000.
He is out of the O’Reilly mare Update, a sister to talented mare Irlanda who won three times at stakes level, while also included in his extended family are multiple Australian Group One winner Mo’unga (Savabeel) and Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) winner Chenille (NZ) (Pentire).
He has now won four of his seven starts and more than $214,000 in prizemoney.