Entriviere lands first Group 1 blow in Railway
Te Akau Racing, trainer Jamie Richards and jockey Opie Bosson have gone back-to-back in the world’s first Group 1 race of the year, stealing the show with a scintillating performance by Entriviere (5 m Tavistock – Marcey’s Belt by Golan) in the Sistema Railway (Gr 1, 1200m) at Ellerslie yesterday.
Last year’s Railway was the fifth of nine career Group 1 victories for Avantage (Fastnet Rock), but Entriviere is just getting started. The Ellerslie sprint showpiece was the first taste of Group 1 racing for the super-talented daughter of Tavistock (Montjeu) and only her 11th start overall in a career that began in September, 2020.
She has wasted no time since then in making her presence felt on both sides of the Tasman, shining brightly in the Sheraco Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) in Sydney as well as Ellerslie’s Concorde Handicap (Gr 3, 1200m) and King’s Plate (Gr 3, 1200m).
Yesterday’s Railway brought a new challenge against a quality sprint field headed by the proven Levante (Proisir), but Entriviere produced something special.
It was billed as a two-horse race, with Entriviere ($1.90) and Levante ($2.50) the only two in single figures in the betting market, and the pair had their own race within a race after jumping from neighbouring gates.
They sat side by side towards the back of the field, and coming up to the final turn, they came wide together to launch their runs.
Levante briefly appeared to be travelling the better of the two, but Entriviere responded to Bosson’s urgings and changed gears in the straight. She shot clear with a brilliant burst of speed, launching herself a length and a half clear of a gallant Levante, who placed in the Railway for the second year in a row.
“She’s come back so well this time in,” Richards said. “Opie was confident that there would be a genuine tempo up front today, so he was keen to ride her back. That’s probably the best way to ride her, because she can tend to overdo things a little bit when she’s left exposed too early.
“When Opie asked her to quicken in the straight, she really exploded and won like the quality horse we know she is.
“It was a little bit tricky to get a saddle on her out the back before the race, so I was briefly a bit worried that I’d left her a run short for this. But it’s a big thrill to see her produce a performance like that – especially with Dad (Paul Richards) and the whole team here together today, after having to spend an extended period over in Australia through the spring. This is very special.”
Bred by iconic central districts trainer Kevin Gray in partnership with his wife Kathleen, Entriviere is out of the three-race-winning mare Marcey’s Belt, who has a filly by Burgundy (Redoute’s Choice) in Prima Park’s draft for Book 1 of Karaka 2022. She is catalogued as Lot 400 and will go through the ring on March 8.
A half-sister to the Karaka Million (RL, 1200m) winner Xiong Feng (Iffraaj), Marcey’s Belt is the dam of five winners from five foals to race, including the Listed-placed Satin Belt (Power).
But Entriviere is now the clear headline act of the family, with seven wins, more than $550,000 in stakes and the promise of much more still to come.
“She’ll head to the Telegraph at Trentham on January 15 and then the Waikato Sprint at Te Rapa,” Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis said. “We could look at getting her back over to Australia in the latter part of the Sydney autumn, but there’s too many good races in New Zealand to think about first.
“I never get tired of winning these big races at Ellerslie. I had my first one back in 1978, and I thought that would be my biggest win ever. This is a wonderful result again this year with a mare that’s been brilliantly trained by Jamie Richards and was given such a great ride by Opie. The staff had her in outstanding shape for this, and she’s delivered a terrific performance.”
Richards is now moving into his final few months at Matamata before relocating to Hong Kong, and he will be replaced by Mark Walker at the helm of Te Akau’s all-conquering New Zealand operation.
“Jamie’s certainly going to be a big loss to New Zealand racing, but at the same time it’s very exciting to welcome Mark Walker back from Singapore,” Ellis said.
Last-gasp Guineas win for Dark Destroyer
With back-to-back stakes wins including a last-gasp thriller in the Auckland Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m), Dark Destroyer (3 g Proisir – All Can Party by All American) is stepping up to fill a void for owners David Archer and Diane Wright.
The couple’s distinctive grey and blue colours have had a quiet few months following the retirements of quality trans-Tasman performers (The) Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) and (Sir) Charles Road (Myboycharlie) during the winter. But it turned out that their next star galloper was just around the corner, as Dark Destroyer debuted with a third placing at Taupo in September.
The talented son of Proisir (Choisir) has now won three of his six starts including the Auckland Guineas and last month’s Bonecrusher Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m), and he also placed in the Sarten Memorial (Gr 2, 1400m). His only time outside the placings was a solid fifth in the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
“This is a big thrill today and our hearts are pumping,” Archer said. “It’s been quite a long time between drinks for us, but this is a brave little horse who’s very tough, very talented and really progressing well.
“We just had to find out today whether he could go on a dry track, and he did that. It’s been a great training feat by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, who are a lot of fun to race horses with, and it was just a magnificent ride by Sam Weatherley.”
For most of yesterday’s Guineas, second place seemed to be the best that Dark Destroyer could hope for. The 2,000 Guineas placegetter Field Of Gold (Starspangledbanner) had enjoyed an easy time in front, and he threw down the gauntlet in the straight with a powerful kick.
Dark Destroyer was still more than a length adrift with 100 metres remaining, but he gradually clawed his way up alongside the leader and then collared him in the shadows of the post, winning by a long neck.
“That was a big win,” Weatherley said. “I’m really grateful to David and Diane for keeping me on this horse. He’s a pretty good galloper, and I’m over the moon with that.
“He wants to go even further than this – I couldn’t pull him up after the race and almost had to go up the Ellerslie hill to get him to stop, so it’s exciting.”
The NZ TAB now rates Dark Destroyer a $10 favourite for the New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) at Ellerslie on March 5.
“Our Derby dream is still a little bit alive,” Archer said. “We’re actually quite lucky to own him. He was passed in at Karaka as a yearling, and I asked Paul Moroney which of the passed in lots he liked the best. He gave me a list of five to have a look at, and Dark Destroyer was one of those.”
It was the third consecutive Auckland Guineas win for O’Sullivan and Scott, who won it with Dragon Leap (Pierro) in 2020 and Rocket Spade (Fastnet Rock) in 2021.
“This horse has some incredibly loyal owners, who have been so patient with this horse all the way through,” Scott said. “They’re starting to be rewarded now, and hopefully that will continue.”
Dark Destroyer comes from a speed family that includes Group 1 winners Masked Party (Marscay) and Festal (Vain). The gelding was bred by Warwick Jeffries, a sheep and beef farmer based about 15 kilometres from Tauranga and a shareholder in exciting Rich Hill Stud stallion Proisir.
Other big-race winners on the Ellerslie card included fellow three-year-old Self Obsession (3 f Shocking – Mawaakib by O’Reilly) in the Royal Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m), Mali Ston (4 g El Roca – Loviste by Black Minnaloushe) in a dramatic Rich Hill Mile (Gr 2, 1600m) marred by the death of favourite Gold Watch (Swiss Ace), class mare Concert Hall (7 m Savabeel – Classic Legacy by Carnegie) in the City Of Auckland Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) and Wolverine (2 f Tivaci – Knew It by O’Reilly) on protest in the Eclipse Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).