Karaka Graduates Star Across Australasia
29 October 2019
Karaka graduate Harlech (NZ) (Darci Brahma) came of age at Te Rapa on Monday with an emphatic victory in the $100,000 Group 2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes (1400m).
The colt was a $100,000 purchase during Book 1 of Karaka 2018 by respected bloodstock agent Paul Moroney, and he is trained by Moroney’s brother Mike in partnership with Pam Gerard.
Carrying the colours of part-owners the Elias Fletcher Partnership, Harlech had won one of his four previous races and was a last-start second behind the subsequent stakes winner Travelling Light (NZ) (El Roca).
Harlech (NZ) Shines in Sarten
Karaka graduate Harlech (NZ) (Darci Brahma) came of age at Te Rapa on Monday with an emphatic victory in the $100,000 Group 2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes (1400m).
The colt was a $100,000 purchase during Book 1 of Karaka 2018 by respected bloodstock agent Paul Moroney, and he is trained by Moroney’s brother Mike in partnership with Pam Gerard.
Carrying the colours of part-owners the Elias Fletcher Partnership, Harlech had won one of his four previous races and was a last-start second behind the subsequent stakes winner Travelling Light (NZ) (El Roca).
He faced a talented line-up on Monday and came out on top, charging out of midfield with a quality turn of foot. He opened up a wide margin in the straight, and at the finish line he still had a length and a half up his sleeve from the fast-finishing Run To Perfection (Sepoy).
Now the winner of $76,000 in stakes, Harlech is on track for a shot at the $500,000 Group 1 Al Basti Equiworld New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on November 9.
“We’re pleased to get that (first stakes win) out of the way,” Gerard said. “He’s been so promising right the way through. All of his runs so far have been very good, he’s done nothing wrong. He just needs to learn to settle and relax a bit better.
“You have so much confidence in the horses that Paul and Mike (Moroney) pick out. If you’re patient with them, they just grow into such fabulous animals. This colt is a stunner to look at, and the horses that they pick out at the Sales just have so much natural ability.
“We’ll be on the plane to Christchurch now, and hopefully we can give it a bit of a rattle. He’s going to lap up the mile.”
Runner-up Run To Perfection is also a Karaka graduate, purchased for $55,000 at the 2018 Ready to Run Sale.
| Vendor | The Oaks Stud |
| Purchaser | Paul Moroney Bloodstock |
| Breeding | Darci Brahma – Obsession |
| Sale | Lot 440, Karaka 2018 Book 1, $100,000 |
| Bred by | The Oaks Stud |
Fascino (NZ) Shares Group 2 Spoils
Well-related Karaka graduate Fascino (NZ) (Charm Spirit) scored her first stakes victory in a dead heat in Saturday’s A$300,000 Group 2 Antler Luggage Fillies’ Classic (1600m) at Moonee Valley.
Bought for $400,000 from Karaka 2018 Book 1, Fascino had scored a stylish maiden win in September and finished second in the Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m) at Flemington earlier this month.
After racing just behind midfield, Fascino and jockey Mark Zahra sprinted to the lead at the top of the home straight. La Falaise (Canford Cliffs) came at her with a powerful late challenge, but Fascino fought back and the pair hit the finish line locked together.
The shared victory was Fascino’s second win from seven starts, placing in another two for prize-money earnings of A$210,250 for owners Glentree Racing and Ciaron Maher Racing.
Trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace are now considering backing Fascino up in next Saturday’s A$300,000 Group 2 Mumm Wakeful Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.
Fascino is by exciting Windsor Park Stud shuttle stallion Charm Spirit, and her dam is the Group 1 performer Lady Kipling (NZ) (Savabeel). Fascino was bred by Geoff Candy and the late Lawrence Redshaw.
| Vendor | Windsor Park Stud |
| Purchaser | Ciaron Maher Bloodstock / Waterford Bloodstock |
| Breeding | Charm Spirit – Lady Kipling |
| Sale | Lot 319, Karaka 2018 Book 1, $400,000 |
| Bred by | G Candy & Est late L I Redshaw |
Group 3 Victory for Ready to Run Graduate
Less than a month out from the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, another graduate of the exceptional Sale of two-year-olds has become a black-type winner.
Mauna Kea (NZ) (Per Incanto), who was passed in with a $45,000 reserve at the 2015 Sale, claimed the biggest win of his career so far in Saturday’s $70,000 Group 3 Gee & Hickton Funeral Directors Thompson Handicap (1600m) at Trentham.
Trained by Paul Moseley for a large group of owners, Mauna Kea has now had 26 starts for eight wins, eight placings and $177,150 in stakes – almost four times his Ready to Run Sale reserve.
Mauna Kea raced in a prominent position in Saturday’s Trentham feature, then took over in the straight and dug deep through the last 150 metres to hold out Jessiegee (NZ) (Alamosa), who herself cost only $15,000 at the 2015 Select Sale.
Moseley was proud to see his stable star perform at Group level.
“I wouldn’t mind a couple more like him,” he said. “The game would be a lot easier with a couple more like that.”
The Ready to Run Sale has produced a long line of big-race performers in recent seasons, headed by Group 1 winners such as Mongolian Khan (Holy Roman Emperor), Beat The Clock (Hinchinbrook), Turn Me Loose (NZ) (Iffraaj), Gingernuts (NZ) (Iffraaj), Vin De Dance (NZ) (Roc de Cambes), Hall of Fame (NZ) (Savabeel), Dukedom (NZ) (Bachelor Duke), Gaultier (NZ) (Rios), Atlante (Fastnet Rock), Albany Reunion (Fastnet Rock), Sangster (NZ) (Savabeel), Nashville (NZ) (Darci Brahma), Glorious Days (Hussonet) and Shootoff (NZ) (Duelled).
The 2019 edition of the Ready to Run Sale will be held at Karaka on 20 and 21 November, with another high-quality catalogue of 414 two-year-olds to go under the hammer.
| Vendor | Phoenix Park |
| Breeding | Per Incanto – City Class Rose |
| Sale | Lot 208, 2015 Ready to Run Sale, Psd (Res $45,000) |
| Bred by | P R Sewell |
Unbeaten Filly Takes Wellesley
Play That Song (NZ) (Showcasing), who was bought for $40,000 in Book 2 of Karaka 2019, continued a perfect start to her career in Saturday’s $50,000 Listed Hanley Formula Wellesley Stakes (1000m) at Trentham.
The Nigel Tiley-trained filly had scored a smart debut win on debut at Ruakaka on October 2, and on Saturday she made it two out of two with a valuable black-type success.
Rider Rosie Myers sat outside the leader before quickening stylishly to take over in the straight. She went clear to win by a length and a half from Power ‘n’ Glory (NZ) (Power).
“She has a good turn of foot and really wants to compete,” Tiley told NZ Racing Desk. “I didn’t know if she would handle the heavy track out there today, and she did struggle across the junction, but once she got on the right leg in the home straight, she did it nicely.”
With $34,375 in stakes already to her name, Play That Song is in prime position to make the field for the $1m Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie on January 25. View the Karaka Million Order of Entry here.
| Vendor | Windsor Park Stud |
| Purchaser | Tiley Racing |
| Breeding | Showcasing – Supreme |
| Sale | Lot 944, Karaka 2019 Book 2 |
| Bred by | Windsor Park Stud Ltd |
Chief Sequoyah (NZ) Handles Class Rise
$15,000 Select Sale purchase Chief Sequoyah (NZ) (Redwood) took a big step up in class in Saturday’s $50,000 Listed Christchurch Casino Spring Classic (2000m) at Riccarton, and he handled it with ease.
Trained in Cambridge by Stephen Marsh, the promising gelding had placed in Rating 65 company at Ashburton in his previous appearance.
Stepping up to open company for Saturday’s middle-distance feature, Chief Sequoyah and jockey Sam Weatherley led all the way and held on strongly to win by three-quarters of a length.
Chief Sequoyah has now had 15 starts for two wins, seven placings and $55,290 in stakes – more than three and a half times his purchase price. He is raced by Deb McCool, Ben Foote, J McFlinn, Cedric Foote, B G Henry, Samuel and Helena Beatson, Aaron and Phil Cogswell.
Marsh has nominated Chief Sequoyah for the $250,000 Group 3 Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton on November 16.
| Vendor | Sedgmere Farm |
| Purchaser | Riversley Park (Ohaupo) |
| Breeding | Redwood – Fantasy Rose |
| Sale | Lot 868, 2016 Select Sale, $15,000 |
| Bred by | Mrs L J & W L Sullivan |