Australian buyers don’t have to go to Europe and pay huge money to find good stayers, there is plenty of quality to be found in New Zealand.
Sadly the misconception has cost many owners small fortunes with limited success.
The hundreds of Northern Hemisphere horses that arrive on our shores to win the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup were yet again devastated as the Southern Hemisphere progeny prove supreme. More so our industry is loosing hundreds of millions of dollars based mainly on a fad - not statistical fact.
Below we take a look at the two feature Gr1 races –
The Melbourne Cup and Vic Derby.
Kiwi’s Prince Win G1 Melbourne Cup
Kiwi bred stayer Prince of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire) outclassed a star-studded international field to take out the $6 million Gr1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
Continuing the rich history New Zealand-bred horses have in the race that stops the nation,
Prince of Penzance is the
24th kiwi winner in the past 50 years of the great race - a strike rate of
48%.
The staying prowess of New Zealand horses is what attracts agents in his search for a top-class staying prospects.
New Zealand has always produced great stayers and still does and there is great value to be found as well, across all the sales.
Buyers don’t have to go to Europe and pay huge money to find good stayers, there is plenty of quality to be found in New Zealand.
I don’t know why so many Australians buy these over-rated, over-priced older tried horses in Europe when there is quality, at great value, on our door step in New Zealand.
Trainer Darren Weir paid just $50,000 for Prince of Penzance at the 2011 Karaka Premier Sale from Rich Hill Stud.
It is always wonderful to have a Gr1 winner and the Melbourne Cup is the highest profile race in Australasia to win.
Again the overseas horses were good this year but found the kiwi horses too hot to handle.
Kiwi bred horses ran 1st and 3rd in this year’s event (
Prince of Penzance and Criterion) whilst the only mare in the race – the kiwi bred mare
GUST OF WIND finished 6th.
Add in the fact that the two
Gai Waterhouse runners ran 7th and 8th and the fact
WHO SHOT THE BARMAN was badly hampered in running and was nosed out of 10th spot it
highlights the strength of the Southern Hemisphere when it comes to the Melbourne Cup.
Darren Weir commented “He was great value when we bought him as a yearling. He was a nice horse by a very good sire in Pentire, he has a good pedigree and was an extremely good walking horse. We probably got him at great value because he was early in the catalogue.”
The race yesterday will go down in history as rider Michelle Payne became the first female jockey to win the Gr1 Melbourne Cup. Payne has a great association with Prince of Penzance, having ridden him in 23 of this 24 starts. She was aboard the son of Pentire in his other two stakes wins which came in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup and the Listed Mornington Cup Prelude.
Payne’s brother Stevie, straps the horse and drew barrier 1 for Prince of Penzance at the barrier draw on Saturday night. The coveted draw proved valuable.
Enjoying a cosy run from the inside barrier, Prince of Penzance settled mid-field and relaxed for the majority of the 3200m race. Payne edged him out as they approached the corner to enter the straight in the centre of the field.
Prince of Penzance drove to the lead in the straight and was challenged late by Max Dynamite (Great Journey), but the kiwi was too strong and raced to victory by half-a-length over Max Dynamite with fellow kiwi Criterion (NZ) (Sebring) finishing in third.
It was a first victory in the Gr1 Melbourne Cup for Weir, Australia’s leading trainer last season.
The horses from New Zealand are very good, especially over middle distances. Australia doesn’t breed stayers which New Zealand does. New Zealand has good sires that produce quality stayers including Pentire, as well as some really nice up and coming sires.
A winner of 7 of his 24 starts, the six-year-old gelding has amassed over $4.2 million in prizemoney, which is 84 times his purchase price, for connections.
The Melbourne Spring Carnival has been fruitful for New Zealand graduates with the big 4 stamina races all going to Kiwi Bred horses – Winx winning the Group 1 Cox Plate, Mongolian Khan winning the Group 1 Caulfield Cup, Tarzino winning the Group 1 Victoria Derby along with Prince of Penzance’s triumph in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup.
Kiwi bred or sold horses similarly dominated the Sydney Autumn Carnival this year, winning half of the Group 1 races at The Championships through Mongolian Khan, Kermadec, Gust of Wind and Criterion.
Kiwi bred TARZINO to good in the Gr1 VIC DERBY
An outstanding staying performance by three-year-old Kiwi Tarzino saw him take out the $1,500,000 Group 1 AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday.
The son of New Zealand’s young boom sire Tavistock, Tarzino continues the impressive record of kiwi three-year-olds in Australia –
45% of Derbies have been won by New Zealand bred or sold horses in the past five seasons.
Tarzino became the seventh New Zealand bred or sold horse to have won the Group 1 Victoria Derby in the last 10 races.
Last year’s race was won by Preferment (Zabeel) following Sangster (Savabeel), Lion Tamer (Storming Home), Monaco Consul (High Chaparral), Kibbutz (Golan) and Efficient (Zabeel).
From the stable of Mick Price, the three-year-old colt entered the race fresh from a third placing in the Group 2 Dilmah Vase at Moonee Valley just seven days ago, following his first tilt at a black-type race where he finished seventh in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.
“I think he’s going to make a 2000m weight-for-age horse in the autumn,” commented Price. “As a four-year-old he’ll be fantastic. I was a little bit nervous when he pulled for the first half mile but Craig was very confident.”
Race-favourite Tarzino commenced the race from barrier 10 for jockey Craig Newitt, settling one off the fence in fourth position. Taking a wide path around the home turn, Tarzino raced clear shortly after straightening to win strongly by two-lengths over runner-up Etymology (New Approach) and Kia Ora Koutou (Blackfriars) in third.
“At the top of the straight he looked like he was going to hit the front too early but he was just too strong. Everyone around him was off the bridle and the horse did a good job as he’s bit of a stargazer,” Price added.
“He’s a really, really good horse and he’ll go to the paddock now before a light autumn. He’s a beautiful colt, was the best horse in the race and he deserved this win.”
Winning three of his six starts, Tarzino has amassed $1,006,050 in prizemoney.
He was purchased as a yearling at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2014 Select Sale for
$45,000 from Cambridge Stud.
Bred by Cambridge Stud’s Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan, the son of Tavistock is out of Zabeel mare Zarzino, a full-sister to Respect (Zabeel), winner of the Group 2 Perth Cup, and Group 1 runner-up Kind Return (Zabeel). Zarzino is also a half-sister to Group 1 winner Kindacross (Cape Cross). Tarzino is from the same family as three-time Australian Group 1 winner Sky Chase (Star Way).
Knowing these facts and figures is a huge advantage for professional buyers.
It’s not a fashion parade. The due diligence work involved in selecting horses to be Classic and Cups contenders is paramount when wanting success on the racetrack.
Therefore it’s no surprise for our Dynamic owners that Dynamic Syndications and Gai Waterhouse combined to purchase 2 outstanding Kiwi Bred fillies to aim at the Classics and Cups.
The first is
a daughter of CAPE BLANCO from the Zabeel mare ATHENRI.
The dam has already produced
Gr1 Queensland Derby Winner SHOOTOFF and the filly is by the
CAPE BLANCO – a son of the World Champion Sire GALILEO he was a Champion middle Distance 3yo of Europe and he went to the USA and was Champion middle distance 4yo in the States.
His oldest progeny in the Australasia are just 2yo’s.
5% Shares in our CAPE BLANCO / ATHENRI 2yo Filly are $8,050 – We have Sold 90% Just 2 x 5% or 1 x 10% remains.
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Our second filly to aim at these same Classics and Cups is by
SAVABEEL – the Cox Plate Winner and now Champion NZ Sire who stands at $100,000 service Fee has sired 42 Stakes Winners with 10 at Gr1 Level.
Importantly at this stage his fillies have performed better at Black Type level than his colts and geldings.
From the Pins mare SWAROVSKI, our 2yo filly is bred on the identical cross to 3 stakes winners including
Gr1 Queensland Derby winner BRAMBLES.
5% Shares in our SAVABEEL / SWAROVSKI 2yo filly with GAI are $7,250. We have Sold 50% of this filly to date.