First Stakes Race of the Season Goes North

North Island visitor Karla Bruni (NZ) was successful in the first black-type race of the new season, winning the Group 3 Estaronline 116 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday.

The consistent daughter of Pins made the field with the minimum weight of 53 kilos for Awapuni based trainer Roydon Bergerson despite her strong formline, having run second in three of her previous four starts.

Karla Bruni (NZ) winning the Group 3 Estaronline 116th Winter Cup at Riccarton

Jockey Danielle Johnson settled Karla Bruni midfield after jumping from the outside barrier in the capacity sized race. The field swung wide entering the straight and Johnson stayed closest to the inside with Karla Bruni sustaining a strong gallop to the winning post to record a two-and-a-quarter-length victory.

It was a tough performance from the six-year-old mare having looked under immense pressure approaching the final turn as she was urged along by Johnson.

“With 600 metres to go I thought she was going to run last,” said Bergerson. “I said to Danielle it is up to you where you go but she wasn’t going good enough to go around them so she went back to the inside and it paid off, she won pretty easily in the end.

“She pulled up a bit tender so we will get her back home now and she can spend a week at the beach.

“We will target the Merial Mile on our home track in September,” commented Bergerson.  

Bergerson came about the horse after meeting with Sam Williams of Little Avondale Stud for lunch with good friend Opie Bosson.

“I went out to lunch with Opie at Little Avondale Stud and Sam Williams told me there was a horse around the corner I should go look at.

“It was pouring with rain but we inspected her anyway and decided we would take her,” recalled Bergerson.

Last season’s premiership winning jockey Opie Bosson took a share in the horse with Bergerson along with C R Sheridan & P G Humphries.

The win by Karla Bruni is a great start to the new season for her stallion Pins, a perennial figure in the New Zealand sires table. The Waikato Stud based stallion was fourth on the list last season behind his barnmate O’Reilly.

The dam of Karla Bruni, Cantante, is the dam of two other winners and is by the illustrious broodmare sire Centaine.

Bred by Miss L E Jameson and offered by Little Avondale Stud at the 2009 Karaka Select Sale, Karla Bruni has now won five races for earnings of $113,775.

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