Consistency was rewarded when Hastings-trained Sol De Otono took out a $40,000 Rating 65 race at New Plymouth last Saturday.
The five-year-old daughter of top Australian sire The Autumn Sun was recoding only her second success from 17 starts but has not finished further back than fourth in her last 10 outings.
Sol De Otono was one of two horses the Hastings stable of Guy Lowry and Leah Zydenbos lined up at last Saturday’s Taranaki meeting and she represented the partnership’s first winner on the New Plymouth track.
The mare was stepping up to 2000m for the first time after a last start fourth over 1800m at Taupo last month, where she got too far back and had too much to do on the tight turning track.
Talented apprentice Elen Nicholas, who had ridden Sol De Otono to a third placing over 1600m at Tauherenikau last month, was reunited with the mare last Saturday.
She bounced the horse out well from the barrier and had her fifth in the early running, keeping the leaders in sight.
Sol De Otono did start to over-race in the middle stages but Nicholas got her to settle and moved her up to challenge the leaders rounding the home turn.
She kicked clear soon after and had plenty in reserve when the challengers came, holding on to win by 1-1/4 lengths.
Sol De Otono is owned by her Cambridge breeder Tony Rider, who has retained a 50 per cent racing share and has leased out the other 50 per cent.
Guy Lowry has a racing share as well as several other Hawke’s Bay people. They are the new Chairman of Hawke’s Bay Racing, Fred Coates, the brothers Paul and Mark Apatu, Bruce Lewis, Jim Small, Darrel Cook and George and Karen Bullard.
The other syndicate members are Sundi Destounis, Diana Dobson and Gavin Duckworth from Gisborne and Matthew and Karma McCallum, Steve and Cathie McCallum and Ryan and Catriona McFarlane from Wellington.
Most have been loyal clients of Guy Lowry’s Game Lodge Stables for many years and been involved in several other horses trained from that base.
A number of them were part of a syndicate that raced Sol De Otono’s dam, the Savabeel mare Savvy Dreams.
Guy Lowry trained Savvy Dreams when in partnership with Grant Cullen and, although the mare only won two races from 14 starts, she filled a top four placing nine times and was Group 1 placed in both New Zealand and Australia.
Sol De Otono was the first foal out of Savvy Dreams to race but the mare has since left Savour The Dream (by Super Seth), who has won three races in Australia.
Tony Rider’s Milan Park Stud offered a filly by Sword Of State out of Savvy Dreams at January’s Karaka yearling sales and she was sold for $425,000.
Sol De Otono has been at Game Lodge Stables since she was a two-year-old but lacked strength back then and never commenced racing until she was three.
She finished fifth on debut over 1200m at Hastings and has since been plagued by wide draws, unlucky runs and a few questionable rides that have meant that she was still a maiden when lining up for her 14th start at Wanganui in January.
She won by half a neck over 1600m that day.
Promising galloper sails to another win
Few horses win at their next start after clearing maiden ranks but Waipukurau-trained Plain Sailing did it in style at last week’s Tauherenikau meeting.
The Ocean Park four-year-old gelding, prepared by Simon Wilson, scored a decisive length win in a 1400m maiden on his home track last month and was just as impressive when stepping up to 1600m in a Rating 65 race on Thursday of last week.
Kate Hercock, who rode Plain Sailing to his maiden success, was again aboard at Tauherenikau and certainly knows how to get the best out of the gelding.
She had him in fifth place early but, when the pace slackened mid-stages, she let him slide around the field and they challenged for the lead rounding the home turn.
Plain Sailing shot to the front soon after and then showed a great turn of foot inside the last 200 metres to race clear for a 1-3/4 length win.
Wilson bought Plain Sailing as a weanling for $5000 and races him in partnership with his wife Claire.
The horse has been a slow maturer and didn’t start racing until he was a three-year-old. He finished second on debut over 1360m at Wanganui in May of last year but only had one other run last season before Wilson turned him out for a spell.
He was having his fourth start in a new preparation when he lined up at Tauherenikau last week, following a third, a fifth and a win.
No racing at Awapuni for another year
Racing is not expected to resume on Palmerston North’s Awapuni track until late 2027.
This follows a full review of several years of reconstruction work carried out on the course proper, which has resulted in next to no racing there for a long time.
The track had been experiencing performance issues, which ultimately led to a full reconstruction of the surface.
After several years of work, the track returned to racing on April 25 last year but unfortunately a slip in the first race that day resulted in the meeting being abandoned and racing has ceased at Awapuni ever since.
NZTR’s Chief Executive Officer Matt Ballesty, with the approval of the Board of Directors, then engaged independent specialist and Melbourne-based track adviser Liam O’Keeffe.
Given the investment was significant, the decision was made to determine whether the new surface could be remediated to provide a safe and consistent racing surface. A range of initiatives were trialled, including verti-draining and surface treatments designed to soften the track profile.
While some progress was made, a further slip some months later during morning gallops confirmed that the surface could not be signed off as safe for racing.
A review of the original project has highlighted a number of challenges in both governance and delivery.
Issues relating to design accountability, engineering oversight and overall project coordination contributed to the outcome. In hindsight, additional racecourse construction expertise could have been better integrated into the project.
However the work completed has not been entirely lost. Key components of the drainage system, irrigation infrastructure and parts of the base profile meet the required standards, meaning elements of the existing investment can likely be incorporated into the long-term solution.
Following the decision in November 2025 that there would be no further racing at Awapuni this season, NZTR engaged Evergreen Turf, the specialists responsible for the successful Hastings track remediation, to undertake a comprehensive independent review.
Working alongside local track managers, the RACE Incorporated Board and NZTR consultant Liam O’Keeffe, Evergreen Turf conducted detailed soil testing, forensic analysis and investigations into suitable sand sources.
Evergreen Turf’s technical assessment confirmed that, while parts of the existing infrastructure remain sound, the underlying soil profile presents a fundamental constraint to achieving the long-term performance required of a premier racing venue.
NZTR and RACE Incorporated are now working together to determine the most appropriate long-term solution for the track.
Planning work is well underway, with both organisations aligned on the need to deliver a track that meets the performance, safety and reliability standards expected of a metropolitan racing venue.
The collective objective is to implement a solution that will enable a return to racing at Awapuni by late 2027.
Business as usual at Marsh Racing
Even with the ultimate NZB Kiwi victory signed and delivered by Well Written on Champions Day, there’s been no let-up for the unbeaten filly’s trainer Stephen Marsh.
This Saturday Marsh is planning to have up to 15 starters at the Racing Tauranga feature meeting and he had another double-figure contingent engaged at Pukekohe’s lower-key fixture the day before.
“No, it’s been pretty much business as usual around here,” Marsh said on Wednesday. “As much as I’d like to take a break there’s been no let-up, that will have to wait.
“For the meantime we’ve got plenty going on with lots more racing to come through the autumn, so it’s a matter of dealing with that and then taking some time out when things quieten down.”
Marsh reports that Well Written came through her nail-biting NZB Kiwi win in good order and is now enjoying her own time out.
“She pulled up well and had a couple of quiet days in the stable just to chill out, so she’s gone out for a very well-deserved spell.
“She’ll come back in before the weather gets too bad. We haven’t talked seriously about any plans for next season and the only race in the back of our minds is the Golden Eagle in Sydney, but for now we’ll just let the dust settle.”
Legarto will go out on a winning note
The retirement of five-time Group One winner Legarto has been confirmed.
When the six-year-old won last Saturday’s Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie it was accepted that was her final race in this country, but the possibility remained that she would have one further start in the Group 1 Australian Cup at Flemington on March 28.
However, following discussions between Legarto’s ownership group, which includes trainers Ken and Bev Kelso, the decision has been made to bring down the curtain on her career.
Legarto will now be let down and prepared for the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale at the Gold Coast in May.
She was purchased for $90,000 at the 2021 National Yearling Sale and went on to win 12 times, finishing outside the top five just three times in her 24-start career.
After winning the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) in the first half of her three-year-old season, she became the first New Zealand-trained horse to also claim the Group1 Australian Guineas (1600m).
With the addition of a $500,000 Champion Stayers’ bonus as a four-year-old on top of her actual race stakes, Legarto’s total earnings topped $3.6 million.