Two Hawke’s Bay-bred horses won six-figure races in Australia last weekend.
Waimarie, bred and still part-owned by well-known Hawke’s Bay thoroughbred identity Graham de Gruchy, won a NZ$130,000 race over 1400m at Saturday’s Ballarat meeting in Victoria.
The following day Grid Girl, bred by Hastings trainer Guy Lowry, completed a hat-trick of wins when taking out a NZ$160,000 race over 1400m at Rosehill, in Sydney.
Waimarie is a five-year-old mare by highly successful Australian sire Snitzel out of the Stravinsky mare Baltika and closely related to champion racemare Horlicks.
She was originally trained by the Victorian partnership of Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young who prepared her to win five races.
De Gruchy recalled recently that the syndicate that raced Waimarie at that stage wanted to sell her and she made A$400,000 at a Sydney sale.
“I wasn’t keen on selling and so I kept a 10 per cent share in her,” he said.
Waimarie was then transferred to the stable of Annabel and Rob Archibald and she has now had four starts from her new base for a win, a fourth and a fifth.
Her first three starts this time in were on right-handed tracks, at Randwick and Newcastle, and she obviously appreciated getting back the left-handed way of going at Ballarat last Saturday.
Apprentice jockey Ryan Houston jumped Waimarie out quickly from the barrier and tracked the leader Celsius Star to the home turn before taking over early in the home straight.
Waimarie kept up a strong gallop to the line to win by a length from Stylish, with a similar margin back to Celsius Star in third place.
She has now recorded six wins, two seconds and two thirds from 20 starts and took her stake earnings to A$396,150.
Waimarie’s dam Baltika is now deceased but was a grand-daughter of Horlicks and recorded a win and a second from three starts when prepared by Hastings trainer John Bary.
At stud she also left the Group 1 winner Sacred Elixer (by Pour Moi), whose five wins included the JJ Atkins Stakes (1600m) in Brisbane and he also finished second in the 2016 VRC Derby (2500m) at Flemington.
Baltika also left a filly called Alloro (by Tavistock), who only had one start before breaking down but is now being bred from by De Gruchy.
She is the dam of Double Shot, a three-year-old filly by King’s Legacy who finished fourth on debut over 1600m at Waipukurau last month and followed that up with another fourth placing over 1600m at Tauherenikau on Wednesday.
De Gruchy bred Horlicks, who was by Three Legs out of Malt, and raced her with his wife Deborah.
The grey mare was trained throughout her racing career by Dave and Paul O’Sullivan at Matamata and was ridden in 13 of her 17 wins by champion jockey Lance O’Sullivan.
Horlicks had a racing career of 40 starts for 17 wins, 10 seconds and two thirds and amassed more than $4.1million in stake earnings.
Six of her wins were in Group 1 races while she also chalked up one at Group 2 level and one at Group 3.
Undoubtedly the biggest win of her career came in the 1989 Japan Cup (2400m), when she became the first Australasian-trained horse to win the prestige event.
Her other Group 1 victories came in the Television New Zealand Stakes (twice), DB Draught Classic (twice) and the VRC MacKinnon Stakes.
Horlicks’ name was again in the international spotlight in 2000 when her son Brew (by Sir Tristram) careered away with the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
Grid Girl made her first visit to Sydney last Sunday and maintained her rich vein of form, completing a winning hat-trick in the A$160,000 TAB Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill.
The five-year-old daughter of Time Test recorded the first leg of her winning treble in a 1454m Benchmark 70 at Kyneton on November 5, then added the A$150,000 Fillies & Mares Pendant (1400m) at Cranbourne on November 22.
Trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes gave Grid Girl her first taste of right-handed racing at Rosehill on Sunday, and she had to overcome an awkward draw in gate 10 among a 15-horse field.
But she began well and jockey Jordan Childs was able to take up a handy position in third. Childs moved Grid Girl through her gears in the straight and she hit the lead inside the last 100m before holding out the late finishing Just Party by a half-head.
“It worked out well from the wide gate and the plan was to be positive on her,” Childs said. “A couple of them wanted to go quick, so I was happy to let them go and get a bit of cover.
“It was a good, tough win in the end, because she got challenged when she was probably a bit out on her feet, but she held on.”
Grid Girl has now had 18 starts for six wins, five placings and A$303,996 in stakes.
She was bred by Guy Lowry and is out of the five-time-winning Savabeel mare Chic. Lowry initially trained Grid Girl for two starts from his Hastings stable in the spring of 2023 and she was placed on both occasions before being purchased privately by clients of the Hayes’ Lindsay Park stable.
George Rooke loving life in NZ
Just weeks after tasting the bitterness of a short-margin defeat in a Group 1 race, jockey George Rooke is still savouring the sweetness of scoring his first elite-level success last weekend.
The expat Englishman thought he had nailed his first Group 1 victory aboard Affirmative Action in last month’s New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton, but the photo finish revealed that horse’s stablemate Romanoff got the nod.
Rooke was once again caught in a short-margin struggle aboard the Stephen Marsh-trained Provence in last Saturday’s Group 1 TAB Mufhasa Classic (1600m) at Trentham, and had an agonising wait to hear the judge’s call as there had been a malfunction with the photo finish camera.
“It was very nerve-racking because two weeks before I learnt my lesson,” Rooke said, referring to Affirmative Action’s defeat. “It was very close that day and I thought I had won, and I was devastated (when I didn’t).
“The camera not working wasn’t ideal for a Group 1 race (on Saturday), they said the software seemed to fail. It was a painful wait, but we got the right result.”
The victory fulfilled a lifelong ambition for Rooke, who moved to New Zealand last year in search of further opportunities.
“It was my first Group 1, so I am over the moon,” he said. “It has always been a lifetime goal for me.
“I had two stakes winners in England but it is just very competitive and hard to get on the good horses there. Over here there is a bit more opportunity and I have put in the hard work, and the trainers and owners have always supported me since I have been here.”
While Rooke’s day ended on a high, having also taken out the last race aboard Foreverintime, the start was a complete contrast.
He was dislodged from Atkins during the preliminary in race three and had to undergo a head injury assessment before being declared to resume riding at the meeting.
“The day didn’t start off that well, I had a fall and got stood down for one race,” he said. “I was beaten on two favourites and it wasn’t going too well, but I won the last two races, so it all turned around.”
Rooke is hoping he can continue his winning momentum through the remainder of the season, particularly over the busy summer period.
“I am looking forward to what Provence, Affirmative Action and a few others can do through the rest of the season,” he said.
Rooke is enjoying his time in New Zealand and sees himself staying long-term.
“I have been here just over a year now,” he said. “The lifestyle, the weather, the people, everything has just been brilliant, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Ka Ying Rising ready to fire again
Zac Purton believes Ka Ying Rising has taken another crucial step forward in his preparation for Sunday’s HK$28 million Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin.
Successful in his past 15 races, Ka Ying Rising is aiming to join Golden Sixty by securing a 16th consecutive win, one shy of Silent Witness’ all-time Hong Kong record of 17.
On Tuesday, Ka Ying Rising – under the hands of Purton – trotted a few laps in the sand ring before making his way to the main dirt course.
In front of a scrum of local and international media huddled at the trainers’ stand, Ka Ying Rising was his usual unproblematic self.
Untested by Purton; he coasted along in a manner that highlighted the 2024/25 Hong Kong Horse of the Year’s readiness.
“He was a lot more relaxed this morning. He came out into the trotting ring and, for once in a long time, he actually did trot around there. Normally, you can’t get him to trot, he wants to hack around and play up a little bit, but he went around nicely and did the same thing on the track,” Purton said.
“He was a little bit aggressive in his grass gallop the other week, but now that he’s had the blow-out, he’s chilled and he’s a different horse this week, which is good.”
The Shamexpress gelding, who also captured last season’s three-race HK$5 million Hong Kong Speed Series bonus as part of his undefeated campaign, clocked 23.2s for the last 400m.