NEW Zealand powerhouse Te Akau Racing won their sixth straight Karaka Million 2YO at Ellerslie on Saturday with the Almanzor colt Dynastic who was having just his second start.
“This is special,” said Te Akau principal David Ellis who led Dynastic back to scale. “I was actually quite emotional when I went out to the horse after the race. To win this race six times in a row is something very special.”
Opie Bosson had Dynastic midfield on the rail halfway through the 1,200-metre sprint, but with no options presenting, he was forced to plot a course six-deep on the bend to get a clear look down the straight.
Charging into the race, Dynastic loomed up quickly alongside Wolverine as the pair chased down the leading Time Flies. Drawing clear in the closing stages, Dynastic won by more than two lengths from the Tivaci filly Wolverine, trained by Roydon Bergerson, as the Te Akau-trained horses Fillini, by the Irish-bred Belardo, and Time Flies filling third and fourth.
“I probably wasn’t in the right spot early on, but then I saw Wolverine outside me and I managed to get on her back,” said Bosson. “Once the big boy balanced up, he sure has got a stride on him.”
The win was a fifth in succession for Bosson, who was suspended in 2021.
Off the speed
“They were going along a bit, which was always going to set it up for something to come off the speed,” said Jamie Richards. “What an amazing thrill to get six in a row and to have Almanzor get his first New Zealand winner in a $1million race. I’m delighted for Brendan and Jo (Lindsay) and everybody at Cambridge Stud, also all of our staff at home.
“Dave (Ellis) has done it again and that man on top (Bosson), what a champion. As everyone knows, things are going to change for me in the near future and hopefully we are not finished yet.
“There are plenty of options for a colt like him as what he is doing at the moment is really a bonus for what he will do next year.”
Pin Me Up’s Classic success
LAST year’s Karaka Million 2YO winner On The Bubbles, a short-priced favourite to complete the double in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic, finished outside of the top two for the first time in his nine-start career, as his Te Akau stablemate, Pin Me Up proved to be a tenacious winner of the 1,600-metre set-weights 3YO Classic.
In a winning position on the bend, On The Bubbles faded mid-way down the straight as Pin Me Up made a sustained run as the widest horse, to sweep to the lead and then hold off the late finishers. Second was the Tavistock gelding Tutukaka, with the Myboycharlie filly Karman Line third.
Nominations
A NZ$270,000 yearling by Pins, the winner looks to have further in her based on that effort, as evidenced by nominations she holds for the Levin Classic (1,600 metres) and New Zealand Oaks (2,400 metres) in March at Trentham.
“Whatever she does as a three-year-old, she will be lengths better next season,” said Richards. “It’s all in front of her and we won’t rush with her. I’d also like to give a big thanks to (jockey) Sam Weatherley. He is the next generation of riders coming through, he has been to Sydney and learnt his craft.”
JAMIE Richards has accepted an invitation to join the ranks of Hong Kong trainers in the 2022/2023 season.
The move will see him depart from Te Akau Racing in New Zealand where he began his training career in 2015 and has subsequently logged 693 career wins, including 50 Group 1 wins amongst his 127 stakes wins.
“Being invited to train in Hong Kong is an incredible honour and it’s a dream come true to challenge myself against some of the world’s best,” said Richards in December.
“I owe so much to David (Ellis), Mark (Walker) and Karyn (Fenton-Ellis), there is no doubt that without Te Akau I would not be where I am today or have this international opportunity.”
Great Western fire
UP there with unusual ways to end a race meeting, Great Western’s Cup meeting had to be abandoned after the first race following a grass fire in the car park.
Up to 18 cars were destroyed in the fire with course broadcaster Ric McIntosh an eye witness.
“You hear a very loud noise like a fuel tank going off in a car, and it was followed closely by another one, another one and another one. Within about roughly a 10-minute period, there would have been close to 15 of those bangs and by then the stewards had called the meeting off,” said McIntosh.
Horses and staff were evacuated safely as the Country Fire Authority with the aid of water bombers took an hour to contain the blaze. The Cup meeting held at Great Western, population 644, is the town’s only meeting for the year, though it’s believed the race day will be reprogrammed.
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