There will be no New Zealand-trained runner in next Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup but there is a Hawke’s Bay-owned horse still in contention for the A$10.2million 3200-metre event.
Asterix, formerly trained in New Zealand and now prepared by champion Australian trainer Chris Waller, was 13th in order of entry for Australasia’s greatest staying race when third declarations were taken last Monday and will be assured of making the 24-horse field if his connections want to push on to the race.
An eight-year-old New Zealand-bred son of Tavistock, Asterix is co-owned by Havelock North’s Sam Kelt with another Havelock North couple, Andrew and Lauren Scott, also owning a share.
Kelt paid $450,000 to buy Asterix at the 2020 Two-year-old Ready-To-Run sale and the horse has won eight races from 33 starts and more than $1.5million in stakemoney.
He started out in the Matamata stable of Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, who prepared him to win the 2022 Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie as well as the Group 2 Avondale Cup (2400m) in 2024.
If betting figures and crowd participation are any indication then the Hawke’s Bay spring racing carnival should remain in Hastings forever.
This year’s three-day carnival realised total betting turnover of more than $10.1 million, with on-course betting totalling more than $1 million.
With no Group 1 race on the first day of the carnival, on September 12, crowd numbers that day were down. But there were a lot more patrons on course for the September 26 second day, which featured the Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile.
The third day, featuring the Group 1 Livamol Classic, has always been the biggest day on Hawke’s Bay Racing’s calendar and this year was no exception.
More than 5000 people packed the course on October 10, 4000 of whom were catered for in hospitality rooms and marquees and on-course betting on the day was $733,000.
New Zealand-wide betting on the Livamol Classic meeting totalled $4.34 million, which was the biggest turnover of any New Zealand race meeting so far this season. The next best was the Group 1 Proisir Plate day at Ellerslie on September 12, which had a betting turnover of $3.85 million. Both meetings staged a Group 1 and a Group 3 race.
Nationwide betting on this year’s Livamol Classic (2100m) totalled $714,000 and the race drew a field of 14 runners. With the Hastings track out of action last year, due to reconstruction work, the Livamol Classic was transferred to Ellerslie where only nine horses contested the race and the betting turnover was $681,000.
A new race, the $100,000 Vet Services East Coast Challenge Final (1400m), was added to this year’s Livamol Classic Day and proved a great success with $516,000 bet on the race nationwide and making it the second highest turnover race on the day.
The Howden Insurance Mile was run at Te Rapa last year and betting on the race was $562,000. This year it was run at Hastings and the betting totalled $621,000.
Most importantly the newly renovated racing surface at Hastings seemed to race well on all three days of this year’s Hawke’s Bay Spring carnival and is expected to only get better as time goes on.
Here is hoping the Hawke’s Bay Spring racing carnival is here to stay.
The highs and lows of racing
The uncertainties of racing were certainly borne out across the Tasman last weekend.
First off, punters were stunned when the world’s best sprinter, Ka Ying Rising, was surprisingly beaten in the world’s richest race on turf, the Group 1 A$20 million TAB The Everest in Sydney.
The Hong Kong champion started a $1.30 favourite for the 1200m event but, after jumping from the second widest barrier, he was caught three and four-wide for the entire race and never comfortable on the soft track.
The big Shamexpress six-year-old was on the wrong leg and under pressure, which saw him make the home bend awkwardly, losing ground on the leaders.
By the time jockey Zac Purton finally got Ka Ying Rising properly balanced up in he home straight star Australian sprinter Tempted had stolen a winning break on the field.
Ka Ying Rising put in some giant strides late and did manage to get within a neck of Tempted on the line but his great winning sequence of 21 straight victories had come to an end.
The punters took a hiding with more than A$6 million bet on Ka Ying Rising to win and about three times that amount bet on him through multi-bets.
The bookmakers cleaned up on that race and also had a major windfall when Kingswood took out the other major Group 1 race on the day, the A$8 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) in Melbourne.
The six-year-old gelding had never won over a distance further than 2011 metres, drew one from the outside at the barrier, and was sent out at odds of 24 to one.
Aided by a great ride from Irish-born jockey John Allen, Kingswood took the lead inside the last 200 metres of the time-honoured event and headed home a $4393.00 trifecta, with two other outsiders in Saint George and Enfjaar filling the minor placings.
The Caulfield Cup was marred by a two-horse fall, with last year’s Caulfield and Melbourne Cup winner Half Yours, crashing to the ground 300 metres from the finish and bringing down New Zealand-bred Ohope Wins.
Half Yours came through the mishap unharmed as did his jockey Mark Zahra but Ohope Wins suffered injuries that necessitated her being euthanised and her rider, Jye McNeil, was taken to hospital for observation but discharged the following day.
Ohope Wins, a four-year-old daughter of Ocean Park, was the winner of four races including last season’s Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m), when trained by the Matamata partnership of Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott.
She was then sold to Yulong Investments, one of the most powerful racing ownership groups worldwide, and went on to win the Group 1 ATC Oaks (2400m) from the stable of top Australian trainer Chris Waller.
A statement was posted via Waller’s social media channels last Saturday night after the New Zealand-bred mare was put down by veterinarians.
“Few words can express our current emotions,” the statement said.
“Our wonderful Ohope Wins was sadly brought down in today’s Caulfield Cup, and despite all efforts from the on-course veterinarians, could not be saved.
“Ohope Wins was a true star of the turf, but to the people who looked after her every day, she was so much more. She was brave. She was kind. She was full of character. But more importantly, she was loved.
“Our hearts go out to all involved throughout her career, especially those who cared for her on a daily basis.”
As if losing such a valuable mare like Ohope Wins was not enough, Yulong Investments suffered a double blow last weekend when star New Zealand-trained mare Well Written was ruled out of this Saturday’s A$10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) in Sydney after developing a viral infection.
The Stephen Marsh-trained mare had travelled to Sydney for the Group 1 feature but will instead return home to New Zealand after recording an elevated temperature.
Marsh confirmed the setback in a statement on Monday, saying the four-year-old was already responding well to treatment.
“Well Written has contracted a viral infection over the weekend, resulting in an elevated temperature,” Marsh said.
“Working closely with the local veterinary team and in consultation with her regular veterinary team at Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre, Well Written has received treatment and is already showing good signs of improvement.
“While the infection is considered relatively minor, a decision has been made to withdraw Well Written from the Golden Eagle.
“The welfare of our horses will always be our highest priority. Given the timing of the infection and the limited time available for recovery, we cannot be confident that Well Written would be able to compete at 100 percent fitness.
“With that in mind, we believe withdrawing her is the right decision for her long-term health and wellbeing.
“Well Written will now return to New Zealand, where she will enjoy a spell before returning to the stable in preparation for a summer and autumn campaign.
“While it is disappointing to miss the Golden Eagle, Well Written’s health and future racing career remain the priority. We can’t wait to see her back at the races in the summer.”
Well Written was unbeaten in six starts during her three-year-old season, winning the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) and $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m).
Those performances saw her crowned New Zealand Horse of the Year.
She returned as a four-year-old with victory in last month’s Group 1 Proisir Plate (1400m) at Ellerslie before travelling to Australia for the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick.
Well Written finished sixth in the Epsom, with connections subsequently discovering she had suffered cardiac arythmia during the race, yet another of racing’s uncertainties.
So Fear chasing black type
While Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh is disappointed Well Written won’t get a chance to show her best in Australia this spring he has high hopes So Fear can pick up a black type win this Saturday on her way to contesting the Group 1 $600,000 Barnswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) on November 7.
So Fear will have an early look at Riccarton when she tackles the Group 3 $100,000 War Decree Stakes (1400m) ahead of her return for the Guineas, for which she is now a $16 chance in the pre-post market.
The daughter of Ardrossan led throughout and was out on her own at the end of 1400m against a competitive age group line-up at Hastings to boost confidence in her 1000 Guineas prospects.
“She won really well, she’s a very good filly and the way she ran it out, I don’t see any reason why the mile would hold her up,” trainer Stephen Marsh said.
So Fear had the blinkers on for the first time at Hastings where she was quickly into stride to lead and, despite being taken on, surged clear at the top of the straight to win with authority.
“She’s an absolute dream and has as good a temperament as you could get,” Marsh said.
“That’s why we put the blinkers on as we just felt that she was just getting a bit too relaxed and taking it all a bit easy. They really sharpened her up.”
So Fear will again be ridden by Courtney Barnes, who has been aboard in all three of her wins.