Hawke’s Bay racehorse owner Neil Kirton looks to have scored himself one of the biggest bargain buys of the year after Swordsman made an impressive winning debut in last Saturday’s two-year-old race at Wanganui.
Kirton, a Hawke’s Bay Regional Councillor who has raced horses, on and off, for more than 40 years, outlaid just $1300 to buy Swordsman from the Gavelhouse online auction site and the son of new season sire sensation Sword Of State won $20,125 in prizemoney from Saturday’s win.
Kirton races the gelding on his own from the Awapuni stable of Mike Breslin and recalled this week how he managed to secure the horse so cheaply.
“I marked him out in a Gavelhouse catalogue about this time last year,” Kirton said.
“He was well bred but he came up very late in the sale and I think that is why he was overlooked.
“When the bidding stopped at $1300 I couldn’t believe it because I thought, with his breeding, he would have made at least 10 times that amount.”
Swordsman was bred at Cambridge Stud and is a half-brother to What You Wish For, who is the winner of five races including last year’s Listed Kaimai Stakes (2000m) at Matamata and the Taupo Cup (2000m).
His sire Sword Of State is a son of champion Australian stallion Snitzel and was the winner of four races from a limited racing career including a 3-1/2 length victory in the Group 1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie as a two-year-old.
At stud he has left the exciting Australian-trained two-year-old Warwoven, winner of both the Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes and Listed Debutant Stakes in Sydney. He is also the sire of Torture, who has been a Listed Stakes winner in Victoria, and New Zealand winner State The Obvious.
Sword Of State’s first crop of yearlings averaged more than $200,000 at the major sales and sold for up to $540,000 while a colt from his second crop topped this year’s Karaka yearling sales when sold for $1.1million.
Swordsman is also well bred on the maternal side. His dam Grand Wish is by the successful Australian sire Smart Missile, who is a son of Fastnet Rock.
Grand Wish only won two races but is a half-sister to Griante, whose seven wins included the Group 1 ATC Galaxy Handicap (1200m), and descends from the same family as the Group 1 West Australian Derby winner Grand Journey.
Swordsman went into last Saturday’s $35,000 two-year-old race on the back of a trial win over 1000m at Foxton on April 2 but both Kirton and trainer Mike Breslin are adamant that he is not a natural two-year-old type and that he is a big horse that will be better with time.
He was the outsider in a four-horse field but was quickly into stride, leading in the first 50 metres before being taken on in front by All On Red and race favourite King Of The Air.
Rider Liam Kauri hugged the inside rail on Swordsman and the horse absorbed the pressure to still hold a slender lead rounding the home bend. He then kicked clear over the final stages to win by 2-3/4 lengths.
Breslin said Swordsman already stands 16.2 hands high and really had no right to be taking on and beating more precocious two-year-olds.
“He does a lot of good things naturally but he is still a big green two-year-old and is going to be so much better as a three-year-old,” he said.
Kirton said Swordsman has come through his win in great order.
“It was a hard race on a pretty heavy track but he ate up everything that night and he might have one more race and then be turned out and brought back in the spring.”
Swordsman is one of two horses Kirton has in Mike Breslin’s stable at the moment.
The other is Popinjay, who has had six starts for one second and Kirton is keen to see him line up at Hastings on May 21, when Hawke’s Bay Racing is set to resume racing at it’s home venue after a break of more than 18 months.
Popinjay is a full-brother to No Rock No Pop, who is the most successful horse Kirton has raced in recent years.
The daughter of Rock ‘n’ Pop recorded four wins, two seconds and five thirds from 33 starts and was trained at Hastings by Lee Somervell.
Kirton now has a rising two-year-old filly by Niagara out of No Rock No Pop coming on while he is optimistic Swordsman can measure up in some of the three-year-old classics in the new racing season.
HB owners rejoice with Sydney wins
A group of Havelock North racehorse owners shared in the ownership of two big race winners at last Saturday’s Randwick meeting in Sydney.
Mazu, a horse raced by a syndicate that includes Havelock North couple David and Bry Mossman, created history when winning the Group 3 A$250,000 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) for the third year in a row.
Asterix, whose owners include Havelock North couples Sam and Birdie Kelt and Andrew and Lauren Scott and former New Zealand cricket representative Mark Greatbatch, resumed from a lengthy spell with a decisive win in the Group 3 A$250,000 JRA Plate (2000m).
Mazu became the first horse to win the Hall Mark Stakes three times and also completed a hat-trick of victories in the race, after also saluting in 2024 and 2025.
He also completed a record five wins in the race for trainer Joseph Pride, with his other winners being Lady’s Angel (2011) and Tiger Tees (2012).
David and Bry Mossman own a five per cent share in Mazu and he has given them the trip of a lifetime.
The seven-year-old gelding was recording his 10th win from 46 starts and took his stake earnings to more than A$10.8million. He has also won A$3.4million in bonuses and is one of Pride’s stable favourites.
He had won the last two runnings of the Hall Mark Stakes on rain affected tracks but coped just as well on good footing last Saturday, heading home a Joseph Pride trifecta with stablemates King’s Legacy and Private Eye filling the minor placings.
"What a fantastic old warrior he is," Pride said.
"We've won three of these in-a-row and he did it on a dry track today.”
Mazu was dropping back from Group 1 grade after racing finishing third in The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill and sixth in the T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
He was able to roll along in his customary leading role for jockey Rachel King, who helped his chances by sticking to the fence and taking the shortest route home.
The son of Maurice, sent out as a $3.70 chance, kept finding to hold off King's Secret by a head with Private Eye a short neck back in third. His winning time was a quick 1:08.19 and he ran home the last 600m in 34.22s.
"I think he knows this is his race; he loves it,'' King said of Mazu.
"I was concerned with the firmer deck today, I just didn't know how he'd let down on it. But that last 50m, he pinned his ears back and he just wanted to beat them.
"I love seeing an older horse like that. Even if he only wins one race a year, he deserves it.''
Pride said Mazu is now likely to have a six to eight week spell and then be prepared for another Sydney spring campaign, with the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick one of his main goals again. It is a race he finished third in last year behind Group 1 performers Briasa and Jimmysstar.
Talented stayer Asterix resumed with a strong win in the JRA Plate (2000m) for trainer Chris Waller.
The seven-year-old son of Tavistock hadn’t raced since finishing second in the Listed Christmas Cup (2400m) at Randwick four months ago but had been given three barrier trials in the lead-up to Saturday’s victory.
Punters backed the former Kiwi from $31 into $15 and the gelding showed a ready turn of foot when finding clear air under jockey Jason Collett to out-finish You Wahng, with well-fancied stablemate Travolta finishing third.
Kiwi mare She’s A Dealer enjoyed a nice run outside the leader but tired late to finish a solid fifth.
“That played out really well for me,” Collett said. “His trials were really good coming into it, he had some freshness in his legs.
“Starting off over 2000m may have been a question mark, but Chris said ‘be kind to him’ and we got a very kind run. Off a moderate tempo, we only had to get out late and sprint and he did that.
“I was pretty happy with that win, I think he’ll be in for a pretty good winter campaign.”
Queensland is now likely on the agenda for the former New Zealand Derby winner who will head to the Listed Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) on May 9 first.
“It's just taken a while to find his legs in Australia, but he's certainly racing honestly now. That was a good win,” Waller said.
“That’s exactly what we wanted to see and I think there’s a Gosford Cup in about three weeks. We’ll have a look at that and then probably head up to Queensland.”
Asterix was a $450,000 purchase from the 2020 Two-year-old Ready To Run sale at Karaka and is by Tavistock out of the Shirocco mare Mourasana.
He began his racing career in the Matamata stable of Lance O'Sullivan and Andrew Scott, for whom he won four of his 14 starts including the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) in 2022 and the 2024 edition of the Group 2 Avondale Cup (2400m).
The now seven-year-old was then transferred to the Sydney stable of Chris Waller and has now had a total of 25 starts for six wins, two placings and has amassed A$1,101,546 in stakes.