Hawke’s Bay’s The Cossack was crowned Champion New Zealand Jumper of the Year for the second successive season at last Sunday night’s national racing awards function in Hamilton, capping what was another outstanding day for the Hastings training partnership of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal.
The Cossack was one of five finalists for Champion Jumper for 2021-22 and completely dominated the voting, picking up 54 of the 58 votes, with second placed Tallyho Twinkletoe credited with the other four.
Earlier on Sunday the Nelson/McDougal stable added to their remarkable winning record in jumps races this winter by picking up both feature events at the Te Rapa meeting, the $60,000 Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle with Nedwin and the $60,000 Pakuranga Hunt Cup Steeplechase with No Tip.
The Nelson/McDougal combination have chalked up a remarkable 16 wins in New Zealand jumping races since June.
The Cossack is owned by Paul Nelson in partnership with three other Hawke’s Bay men, Peter and Doug Grieve and John Frizzell.
The Mastercraftsman gelding was unbeaten in five jumping starts last season, winning the Grand National Hurdles at Riccarton, Great Northern Hurdle at Te Aroha, K S Browne Hurdle at Hastings, Ken & Roger Browne Memorial Steeplechase at Te Rapa and Hawke’s Bay Hurdle at Hastings.
The Cossack’s achievements last season also saw him among the finalists for New Zealand Horse of the Year and he finished second in the voting behind the outstanding mare Probabeel.
The latter joined an elite club with what was her second successive Horse of the Year award, the 10th multiple winner since the award was introduced in 1971.
Sunline took the title four times with Show Gate, Rough Habit, Xcellent, Seachange, Mufhasa, Mongolian Khan, Bonneval and Melody Belle the other dual winners.
Full results:
* NZ Horse of the Year: Probabeel (30 votes). Also: The Cossack (10), Levante (9), Imperatriz (5), Coventina Bay (1), Pinarello (1), Roch ‘N’ Horse (1).
* Outstanding Contribution to Racing: Kevin Myers.
* Outstanding Global Achievement: Paul O’Sullivan.
* Champion Two-Year-Old: Maven Belle (51 votes). Dynastic (3), Wolverine (3).
* Champion Three-Year-Old: Imperatriz (48 votes). Noverre (3), Pinarello (3), La Crique (2), Belle En Rouge (1).
* Champion Sprinter-Miler: Levante (44). Roch ‘N’ Horse (8), Entriviere (3), Callsign Mav (1).Two Illicit (1).
* Champion Middle Distance Horse: Probabeel (49). Coventina Bay (9).
* Champion Stayer: The Chosen One (33). Concert Hall (22), Uareastar (3).
* Champion Jumper: The Cossack (54).Tallyho Twinkletoe (4).
* Jockey of the Year: Michael McNab (52). Opie Bosson (5).
* Jumps Jockey of the Year: Shaun Phelan.
* Trainer of the Year: Jamie Richards.
* Owner of the Year: Brendan & Jo Lindsay Partnership (40). Trelawney Thoroughbreds (12), Joan Egan (2), Gerry Harvey (1), Valachi Downs (1), Waikato Stud (1).
* Award for Contribution in Media, Digital & Content: Aidan Rodley.
* NZ Stablehand of the Year: Nicole Shailer (employed by Mark Walker).
* Jockeys’ Premiership: Michael McNab.
* Trainers’ Premiership: Jamie Richards.
* Owners’ Premiership: Brendan & Jo Lindsay.
* Apprentice Jockeys’ Premiership: Joe Kamaruddin.
* Newcomer To Training: Michael House.
* NZB Filly of the Year: Belle En Rouge & Self Obsession.
Gutsy Hunt Cup victory by No Tip
Shaun Phelan showed why he was crowned Champion Jumps Jockey of the Year for last season with an inch perfect ride aboard Hastings-trained No Tip in last Sunday’s $60,000 Pakuranga Hunt Cup Steeplechase at Te Rapa.
Supporters of the $3.90 favourite would have been worried when the horse settled second last in the early stages of the 4800m event and was still back among the tailenders entering the last 1200m.
But Phelan knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to get the 11-year-old to settle and conserve as much energy as possible, knowing he was only a small horse and had to lump topweight of 69kg.
Phelan finally started to urge his mount forward starting the last 1000m and they quickly improved to third with 600m to run.
Magic Wonder and ex-pat New Zealand jockey Aaron Kuru, who was back in New Zealand for the big jumps race day, had taken the lead from the outset and looked set for victory when still clear in the lead jumping the second to last fence.
But Phelan had the leader in his sights and No Tip joined Magic Wonder after jumping the last fence.
From then on the two fought a neck-to-neck tussle to the line with No Tip just managing to get in the deciding stride on the line to get a half-head decision.
The camaraderie between jumps jockeys was never more evident than when Kuru reached across and gave Phelan a congratulatory pat on the shoulder soon after the two horses past the line.
For trainer Paul Nelson it was his third win in the race in the past three years, following Amanood Lad’s success in 2017 and Perry Mason’s victory in 2018. But this one was extra special as he and his wife Carol bred and own the 11-year-old.
“The Pakuranga Hunt Cup is one of those races that you really want to win and it is a thrill to win, especially with this little horse. We bred him, we own him, we train him—the lot. We gave him away and we got him back again. He has done us proud,” Nelson said.
At one stage the Nelsons thought No Tip was too small to make it on the racetrack so they gave him away to be tried as an eventing horse.
“He went okay for a start at that but then didn’t want to do it so the people that had him gave him back to us,” Nelson recalled.
Nelson and his wife Carol decided to put the Mettre En Jeu gelding back into work and he has more than repaid them this winter, winning the Manawatu Steeplechase at Awapuni and Ferguson Gold Cup Steeples at Hastings before last Sunday’s success.
Nelson paid credit to his training partner’s contribution to the horse’s success.
“My training partner Corrina does a wonderful job and No Tip is her horse. She looks after him and rides him and it is full credit to her.
“He is tough, he is from a really good family. His grandam is actually a half-sister to the great Manikato. It has been a great family to us and he is adding to it.”
No Tip was the last foal out of the Grosvenor mare Grosveness, who was a prolific producer of winners and quality jumpers including No Change (11 wins), Ho Down eight wins), No Cash (seven wins), No Governance (three wins) and No Credit (two wins).
The horse is now expected to return to Te Rapa on September 18 for a crack at the $150,000 Great Northern Steeplechase but will no doubt have a heavy weight to carry in the 6400m feature.
His stablemate Nedwin is also likely to head back to Te Rapa for the $150,000 Great Northern Hurdle (4200m) after his decisive win in last Sunday’s Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle.
The Niagara eight-year-old made it four wins from his last four jumping starts with a half-length victory over Kajino in the 3200m event.
Jockey Aaron Kuru took the horse straight to the front and he gave a polished jumping display for almost the entire race, running down the last two fences when obviously getting a bit tired.
“Aaron said he was a bit green over the last two or three fences in the straight, but to that I would say he missed quite a bit of work through an injury and we thought that he might have been a run short today,” Nelson said.
With Shaun Phelan already engaged to ride Dr Hank in the Great Northern Hurdle on September 18, there is a good chance Aaron Kuru will return from Australia to again partner Nedwin.
Nedwin is raced by Nelson and his wife Carol in partnership with the horse’s former Gisborne-based trainer Mick Gardner and his wife Suz.
Entriviere sells for $900,000
The sale of Group 1 winning mare Entriviere for $900,000 on the Gavelhouse auction site on Wednesday evening provided Hawke’s Bay couple Simon and Melissa Turner with a major windfall.
The couple, who operate a beef and sheep farm in the Puketitiri area, owned a significant shareholding in the mare as members of the Te Akau Buckle Up Racing Partnership. Waipukurau’s Michael Ormsby also owned a smaller shareholding in and will also receive a sizeable payout.
Ormsby has shares in several Te Akau syndicates and picked up three wins at Riccarton on Thursday of last week with Illicit Miss, Belle Of The Ball and Campionessa.
Entriviere was put up for sale after she was retired from racing following
Her run for sixth out of 11 runners when resuming from a spell over 1100m at Ruakaka on August 6.
“We had not been entirely happy with Entriviere following her resuming run and a nuclear bone scan has revealed fetlock issues that would see her sidelined from racing for some time,” Te Akau principal David Ellis said.
“Even with this approach, there would be an element of risk with a return to racing, and that is untenable to Te Akau and to her owners – her well-being is our number one priority.”
Bred by Kevin and Kathleen Gray and purchased privately by Ellis, Entriviere had 16 starts for seven wins, five placings and more than $725,000 in stakes.
She was a brilliant winner of the Group 1 Sistema Railway (1200m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day, having earlier captured the Group 2 Sheraco Stakes (1200m) in Australia during the spring, along with the Group 3 Concorde Handicap (1200m) and Group 3 King’s Plate (1200m) at Ellerslie the previous season.
Bidding on the mare started at $100,000 before a late bidding duel between Cambridge Stud owners Brendan & Jo Lindsay and a syndicate going under the nom-de-plume of Downtown ensured, with the latter putting in the final bid.
Veteran’s deserved jumping success
Locally Sauced, part-owned by Hastings woman Irene Downey and her son Josh, picked up a deserved jumping success when taking out the $20,000 maiden steeplechase at Te Rapa last Sunday.
The 11-year-old was having his 103rd race start when he lined up in the 3900m and was desperately unlucky not to break through for a win in a similar race at Te Rapa two starts before.
On that occasion he looked the likely winner when in front 300m from the finish but then got hampered and taken wide by a riderless horse and lost the lead to eventual winner Keyboard Warrior.
That was the Iffraaj gelding’s sixth minor placing from nine starts over the big fences so no one could begrudge the Grant and Tana Shaw trained veteran his dominant victory last Sunday.
He started a $2.90 favourite and jockey Gary Walsh kept him in or near the lead, and out of trouble, all of the way. They jumped the last fence in front and cleared out from their rivals in the run to the line to score by eight lengths.