Cummings Scores With Karaka Graduate

Weekend racing saw Cups King Bart Cummings triumph with Karaka Premier Sale graduate Rotorua (No Excuse Needed x Spring by O'Reilly) in the Shaftesbury Avenue Handicap (1200m) at Canterbury on Saturday.

Breaking maiden ranks on what was his third raceday start, the three-year-old colt franked his trainer's high opinion of him by turning on an impressive sprint, winning by one-and-a-quarter lengths. Fellow Karaka Premier Sale horse, Jungle Tessla (Jungle Pocket x Miss Tessla by Crested Wave) was third. Mr Katsumi Yoshida purchased him from Rich Hill Stud for NZ$100,000 in 2006.

Bred by Garry and Mark Chittick, Rotorua was purchased from their Waikato Stud draft for NZ$210,000.

Spring, a two-time winning daughter of O'Reilly, has now produced three horses to race with all three being winners. She is from the Shirley Heights mare Head of the River and is a half-sister to Group 1 ARC Sires Produce winner and joint top 2YO of her year, Good Faith (Straight Strike). In 2006 she foaled a colt by Savabeel and in 2007 a colt by Pins, who she returned to last season.

Rotorua's two-year-old full sister, Daffodil, has been retained by the Stud and recorded her first win in April from the Kevin Gray stable.

Waikato Stud shuttle sire No Excuse Needed (Machiavellian) is the sire of this year's inaugural Karaka Million winner, Vincent Mangano, and Bruce Wallace's Grand Dancer.

On the radar for Rotorua is the Group 1 Epsom Handicap at Randwick on 4 October. Cummings trained the last New Zealand-bred to win the Epsom Handicap, Allez Suez, while fellow New Zealand bred and Australian Racing Hall of Fame inductee Super Impose won the race two years in a row.

Among the many New Zealand bred horses Cummings has had success with are the likes of Leilani, Bounty Hawk, Sky Chase, Beau Zam, Catalan Opening, Our Tristalight, Richfield Lady, Belmura Lad, Dayana and Fulmen. Plus seven of his ten individual Melbourne Cup winners are Kiwi exports including Light Fingers, Galilee, Red Handed, two time winner Think Big, Gold and Black, Hyperno and Let's Elope.