Ruud Not Too (NZ) Completes Ellerslie Carnival Double

Karaka graduate Ruud Not Too (NZ) (Bernardini) completed a notable Ellerslie carnival double when she won the $100,000 Group 2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie on Sunday.

Trained by Stephen Marsh for the Go Racing Ruud Not Too Syndicate, the four-year-old mare was one of the most impressive winners at the Boxing Day meeting when she won the inaugural $80,000 Dunstan Feeds Rising Stars Championship (1500m).

Six days later she was at it again, charging through a narrow gap along the inside running rail and out-toughing a quality field for her first black-type win.

“She’s a lovely horse,” rider Danielle Johnson said. “Her run first-up in this campaign was super, but she tried so hard that day that she was maybe a bit flat second-up. Then she was dominant on Boxing Day and she did it again today.

“We got a sweet run up the rail. It got a little bit tight for a moment and I was a little bit, but she’s very tough and she just went for it.”

Bred by Cambridge Stud’s Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan, Ruud Not Too is out of the O’Reilly mare Too Many Diamonds (NZ). Offered by Cambridge Stud at the 2014 Premier Sale, she was bought by Go Racing for $220,000.

Ruud Not Too has now had 13 starts for five wins, three placings and more than $180,000 in prize-money. This was her first stakes win, but she had finished second in last season’s Gr. 2 Eight Carat Classic.

Runner-up All Roads (NZ) (Road to Rock) is also a Karaka graduate, having cost $40,000 at the 2013 Select Sale.