Kiwis flying midweek in Australia
It was a red-letter day for New Zealand-breds in Australia on Wednesday.
On the Kensington track at Randwick Kiwi-breds won three of the seven races, including a trifecta in the Benchmark 72 1800m, led home by former Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) contender Reggiewood.
The son of Redwood beat home stakes winner Main Stage (by Reliable Man) by three-quarters of a length, with a further two lengths back to Savabeel gelding Savvy Legend in third.
Other Kiwi-bred victors included Tavistock mare Bedford Square and Vadamos gelding With Your Blessing.
Further south, the Kiwis were even more dominant at Sandown, winning half of the eight-race card.
Ruthless Dame kicked off proceedings when winning on debut over 1300m for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
Jockey Jamie Kah was impressed with the attitude of the Tavistock filly who was purchased out of Curraghmore’s New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft by Maher for NZD$90,000.
“I was impressed with her professionalism,” Kah said.
“It was her first start so she was entitled to be green but she came around that turn just super and hit the front a bit too soon, but she was still strong to the line.
“She is a nice filly going places.”
Kah believes the promising juvenile will be suited over more ground.
“She had a really good turn of foot for that today but obviously she is going to want a bit further and she has got the right brain on her, she settled,” she said.
“The team has done a great job to get her to the races like this.”
The Maher-Eustace stable were also victorious at Sandown with fellow Kiwi-bred Ocean’s Jen, a four-year-old daughter of Ocean Park, who extended her record to three wins and a second placing from seven starts.
The stable also celebrated the success of Healing Game, a three-year-old gelding by Waikato Stud stallion Tivaci.
Former Guineas contender Here To Shock continued the Kiwi winning flavour when taking out his 1600m contest, a distance jockey Damien Oliver believes the son of Shocking is suited to.
“He was good, it was my first time on the horse,” Oliver said. “A couple came up to him early and kept him honest.
“He is a big, strong, free-going type of horse and I felt it was in his best interests to hold the lead. I could really feel him picking up momentum as I came down the hill and into the bend. He kicked nicely off the bend and I felt he was always going to be hard to run down.
“I like him at the mile, maybe 1800m, and he might squeeze 2000m out of him. I probably like him around the mile to 1800m on a big track would really suit him.”
Finishing the meeting on a high, the Clinton McDonald-trained Ancient Girl was victorious over 1200m in the hands of jockey Mark Zahra to provide the three-year-old daughter of Turn Me Loose with her second win from four starts.
Ancient Girl had been thought highly enough to contest the Group 2 Caulfield Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) in September and McDonald was thrilled with the filly’s development since the spring.
“She did a really good job last time in and it was probably all a little bit too soon for her,” McDonald said.
“She has just matured mentally and started to settle down. She was in a little bit of a hurry last time in and this preparation she has just started to relax. It was a really nice starting point today.
“She is still learning what the game is about and needs to be taken quietly. We’d like to get her to Adelaide, which is our target, and we think she is a filly that will make the grade in time.”