Angels Halo (NZ) Comes of Age With 1000 Guineas Triumph

A bright new star soared to the top of the NZB Filly of the Year Series standings when Angels Halo (NZ) (Proisir) triumphed in the $600,000 Barneswood Farm 54th New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday.

The 1000 Guineas was the fourth leg of the NZB Filly of the Year Series, and the 12 points available to the winner have thrust Angels Halo straight into first place on the table. The Guineas was also worth 7 points for second and 3.5 for third.

Angels Halo was a maiden winner at Ruakaka in early September, then was beaten by only 1.4 lengths when fourth in the Group Two Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) at Hastings on September 26.

However, the Hollie Elliot-trained filly finished only eighth in her final 1000 Guineas lead-up run in the Group Two Sarten Memorial (1400m), and she stepped out on to the Riccarton track on Saturday as an overlooked $31 outsider. Her performance very quickly and emphatically changed that.

Angels Halo was ridden by Masa Hashizume and settled in a handy position just behind the leaders and saving ground along the rail.

When the filly in front of her, So Fear (NZ) (Ardrossan), moved away from the fence at the home turn, Hashizume took his chance and drove Angels Halo through the gap.

Angels Halo burst to the front and went clear with a sparkling turn of foot early in the straight. Dashing Dixie (NZ) (Alabama Express) and Asturia (NZ) (Almanzor) chased hard and gave it their all to try to run the leader down, but Angels Halo could not be caught. She sailed past the finish line three-quarters of a length clear, giving Hashizume his first Group One win.

“I can’t believe this,” Hashizume said. “Full credit to the horse and the trainer.

“She’d been disappointing in her last start, but Hollie was confident that she could run in the top three today, so I stuck with her. This is just unbelievable.

“She half-missed the jump, but luckily we were barrier two and could recover quickly. I knew So Fear was going to go forward, and she settled nicely in behind.

“Courtney (Barnes) came off the fence on So Fear, and I digged my filly through. She shied at the big screen and I was a bit worried. I was saying, ‘Don’t stop! Don’t stop!’ But she was just too tough.”

Angels Halo has now had five starts for two wins and a placing, earning $368,160 for her ownership group.

Saturday’s win was also the first Group One win for Elliot as a solo trainer.

“It’s a massive thrill,” Elliot said. “I don’t often get nervous, but I was actually really nervous coming into today.

“Masa gets on so well with my horses. He rides them so well, and we’re building a good partnership. I told him to ignore that last-start run and that we’d fix it. We put the blinkers on, she’s a laid-back filly, and it’s worked the oracle today.

“The owners are a super group of people, and I’m so grateful to them for trusting me with this filly.”

Angels Halo’s 12 points put her half a point ahead of Asturia on the NZB Filly of the Year Series points table. Dashing Dixie is third with 8.5, with Liguria (NZ) (Snitzel) on 7, Hawea (Hellbent) and Pounce (NZ) (Almanzor) on 6 each, Silhouette (NZ) (Armory) on 3, Fiamma (NZ) (Pinatubo) with 2 and Dream Roca (NZ) (El Roca) with 1.5.

The next leg of the NZB Filly of the Year Series is the $100,000 Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m), which will be run at Trentham on December 19.