Spellbinder Magical in Karaka 3YO Mile

The hugely talented filly Spellbinder (NZ) (O’Reilly) cast a spell over her rivals in the $100,000 Res. Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance Karaka 3YO Mile (1600m) with a dominant victory in less than ideal weather conditions at Ellerslie.

Spellbinder (NZ) winning the NZB Insurance Karaka 3YO Mile.

Two fillies in the Karaka 3YO Mile appeared to be the two best horses in the race with Spellbinder and last start Group 2 Eight Carat Classic victor Hera (NZ) (O’Reilly) the only two horses in the field in single figures with the TAB.

An unfortunate turn of weather saw the Ellerslie Racecourse drenched with heavy rain leading into the running of the three-year-old feature race, but the Jason Bridgman trained filly has previously proven adept on rain affected tracks with a six-length win in the Listed Soliloquy Stakes at Ellerslie on slow ground in September.

Te Akau Racing’s stable rider Matthew Cameron positioned his mount in the trail behind his main competitor Hera and when he asked his filly for an effort she showed great acceleration on the soft ground to dash away from the field to win by three lengths. Hera, who was ridden by James McDonald, finished a comfortable second with Fast Dragon (Fastnet Rock) a further 2.3 lengths back in third.

“She is certainly well capable of handling a bit of cut in the ground so we weren’t too worried if it came,” commented Bridgman. “With those sort of wet tracks it tends to inconvenience others more than it does her.

“She is a classy filly and the next step is to step up to 2000m and see if she can stay. Given how she ran out the race yesterday, there is every inclination that she will do it so the next run will be the Sir Tristram Fillies Classic.

“She will continue to furnish, she has a big stride and she is a good size so there is plenty of upside in her.

“She looks a basement bargain at $60,000 now, she has won four, two listed races, she is Group 1 and Group 2 placed, so she is a valuable breeding proposition as well.”

The daughter of O’Reilly has formed an impressive record in her short career to date, winning four of her six raceday appearances and earning $142,310 for her owners Te Akau Spellbinder Syndicate (Manager D C Ellis).

David Ellis of Te Akau Racing purchased Spellbinder at the 2012 Karaka Select Sale for $60,000 from Waikato Stud. The filly was bred by leading Australian trainer Danny O’Brien and is by Waikato Stud’s Champion Sire of last season O’Reilly. She is out of the Listed placed mare Scenic Sprint (Scenic) and is the fourth winner out of the mare.

Te Akau Racing has won two runnings of the Karaka 3YO Mile now with Rock ‘n’ Pop (Fastnet Rock) successful in the event two years ago for resident trainer Jason Bridgman.

The Karaka 3YO Mile will become a $250,000 race in 2016 when this crop of yearlings that will be on offer at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales Series this week will be three-year-olds. They become the first yearlings to compete for the extended prize pool.

Nominations for the 2014 Karaka Million Race Series close on Tuesday 5 March 2014 at 5pm with the NZ$1,750 + GST entry fee per horse.