Sacred Satono (NZ) Strikes in Bonecrusher

Close up against some of New Zealand’s best two-year-olds last season, and then held up by a badly timed spring setback, highly talented Karaka graduate Sacred Satono (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) got his just desserts with a first stakes success in Saturday’s $100,000 Group Three Mitchell Family Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe.

Sacred Satono was bought by Wallace Thoroughbreds for $34,000 from Rich Hill Stud’s draft in Book 2 of Karaka 2021. His nine-start career has now produced three wins, three placings and $149,940 in stakes.

Although he went winless as a two-year-old, Sacred Satono showed bright promise with placings in his first two starts, including the Listed FastTrack Insurance Stakes (1100m). He then finished fourth in the Group Two Eclipse Stakes (1200m), seventh in the $1m DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1200m), and fifth in the Group One Sistema Stakes (1200m).

Sacred Satono seemed to have turned a corner as a three-year-old, winning his first two starts of this preparation in impressive style. But a brief setback with a skin disease in October ruled him out of last month’s Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), and he was off the scene until a resuming run against older horses in the Group Three Counties Bowl (1100m) on November 19.

An eye-catching second in that sprint feature set Sacred Satono up for his return to age-group features on Saturday, and the colt did not disappoint.

Sent to the lead by Kozzi Asano soon after rounding the home turn, Sacred Satono dug deep to turn back the challenge of highly rated runner-up The Intimidator (Toronado). The two fought fiercely down the straight, but it was Sacred Satono who found that little bit more to win by a neck.

“He had come on nicely from that Counties Bowl run and we were pleased with him coming into today,” said Grant Cooksley, who trains in partnership with Bruce Wallace.

“He won it nicely, fighting back well when the two of them came together. I don’t think he actually saw the other horse initially, but when he did, he pulled out the extra effort and won quite easily.

“It was a nice ride by Kozzi. He had him in a good spot all the way, did no work and produced him at just the right moment.

“The Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) will be the main go for him this time in. I would say he will have one more run between then and now, and then straight to that race.

“We think he will be competitive, but he is still probably six months away from being fully matured. If all goes well, we will consider an autumn campaign in Australia, but that is a long way off at this stage.”

Second placegetter The Intimidator is also a Karaka graduate, fetching a winning bid of $160,000 from Stuart Hale during Book 1 of Karaka 2021. He has now had two wins and two placings from only four starts, earning $52,040 to date.

Vendor	Rich Hill Stud
Purchaser	Wallace Thoroughbreds (Auckland)
Breeding	Satono Aladdin – Belle Joie
Sale	Lot 733, Karaka 2021 Book 2, $34,000
Bred by	Archer Equine Investments Ltd