Kukeracha steals Explosive’s Thunder as New Zealand breds clean sweep Derbies
Night Of Thunder lands first Group 1 winner after quinella for trainer Chris Waller in Queensland Derby
Darley’s 2,000 Guineas- (Gr 1, 1m) winning stallion Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) broke through for his first worldwide Group 1 winner at stud as the Chris Waller-trained Kukeracha (3 g ex Portrait Of A Lady by A.P. Indy) prevailed in an epic duel with stablemate Senor Toba (Toronado) to win the Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) at Eagle Farm yesterday.
The question pre-race for the Queensland Classic, returning after its cancellation in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was whether anything could stop Explosive Jack (Jakkalberry) in his rampaging quest for a record-equalling fourth Derby this year, having won the Tasmanian (Listed, 2200m), Australian (Gr 1, 2400m) and South Australian (Gr 1, 2500m) editions of the race.
Despite a valiant effort from the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained star three-year-old, he could only manage third, a length behind the winner, when sent off the $2.50 favourite, as the surging Kukeracha saw off the rallying grey Senor Toba on its outside, to claim victory by the barest of margins at the post.
It is yet another big-race success for the silks of Neville Morgan this season, with Kukeracha adding to Group-race victories for Shaquero (Shalaa) and triumph in the All Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) for Kolding (Ocean Park).
The win had a distinct New Zealand flavour to it, as Kiwi-born trainer Waller teamed up with leading hoop James McDonald for success on the $130,000 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale graduate, who was consigned by Waikato Stud and bred by their veterinarian, Dr Chris Phillips.
The result meant that every Australian Derby this season has gone to a New Zealand-bred horse with Kukeracha’s Queensland triumph and Explosive Jack’s three Derbies added to by the Bob Peters-owned Western Empire (Iffraaj) in WA and Denis Pagan’s Johnny Get Angry (Tavistock) in the VRC Derby (Gr 1, 2500m).
For Waller, it was his second victory in the race, his first coming in 2013 with the triumph for Hawkspur (Purrealist) and, on this occasion, it was domination for the champion trainer, who saddled the first two home, as well as fourth-placed Achiever (Pride Of Dubai).
“When I saw Explosive Jack kicking I thought we were going to run a nice second or third,” Waller said.
“We had a great opinion of him as a two-year-old, but he lost his way a bit. He was gelded and taken through the system.”
Kukeracha, now the winner of three of his 13 starts and $583,245 in prize-money, arrived at the race off the back of a second placing behind Criminal Defence (Nicconi) in the Rough Habit Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m). A winner at Geelong on debut, his second success would not come until Boxing Day last year when taken to Eagle Farm.
“He ran a good race up here in the Grand Prix in the summer,” continued Waller. “I wanted to give him some experience on the track as he was not racing that well then.
“I think that was a good move because his run in the Queensland Guineas was good, his last start in the Rough Habit was good and today he was brilliant.”
Meanwhile, McDonald was rewarded for heading north for the Queensland carnival rides at the risk of losing his jockey’s title in Sydney to Tommy Berry, who clawed another winner back at Randwick yesterday to leave the margin at 13.
However, post-race, the leading hoop admitted that, given the choice, he would have partnered runner-up Senor Toba.
“Chris (Waller) makes the decisions, and I was lucky enough to be on the right horse today. They say jockeys are the worst decision-makers, so I’m happy I did not have that choice, ” McDonald said.
Kukeracha is one of 58 live foals from the one and only southern hemisphere crop of Night Of Thunder, a crop which has yielded five stakes winners plus a further stakes-placegetter, with yesterday’s Derby hero the first Group 1 winner worldwide for the Darley stallion.
Out of Portrait Of A Lady (A.P. Indy), Kukeracha descends from Champion 3YO filly in Ireland, the Irish Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Alydaress (Alydar), a sister to Park Appeal (Ahonoora), the dam of Cape Cross (Green Desert), as well as Flames Of Paris (Blushing Groom), the dam of BTC Cup (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Hot Snitzel (Snitzel).
Park Appeal is also the dam of Pastorale (Nureyev) and Arvola (Sadler’s Wells), in turn the dams of Iffraaj (Zafonic) and Diktat (Warning).
Portrait Of A Lady was purchased by Dr Chris Phillips for $40,000 in foal to the Night Of Thunder colt that would go on to be named Kukeracha. He is one of nine named foals for the mare, who has a yearling colt by Sacred Falls (O’Reilly) and a weanling filly by Ocean Park (Thorn Park), a stallion she returned to last year.
Vega’s the one in the Kingsford-Smith
The second Group 1 feature on the Eagle Farm card, the Kingsford-Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m), also went the way of a northern hemisphere-based former shuttle stallion that has exerted great influence Down Under.
Whereas Night Of Thunder kicked off with his first winner at the elite level, Ballylinch Stud’s Lope De Vega (Shamardal) scored his fourth Australian Group 1 winner, and 13th worldwide, as Vega One (5 g ex One Funny Honey by Distorted Humor) dropped from the clouds in again leading home a quinella training performance, this time for local handler Tony Gollan.
A $75,000 graduate of the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale from the Stockwell Thoroughbreds draft, Vega One became a notable sixth Group 1 winner from the auction since 2016.
In a fiercely contested renewal of the Kingsford-Smith Cup, race leader Jonker (Spirit Of Boom) looked to have repelled the onslaught of a wall of challengers entering the straight, including Trekking (Street Cry) on his outside and Signore Fox (Exceed And Excel) to the inner, with Vega One held up in behind under Jamie Kah. However, with turf rapidly running out, Kah steered Vega One into clear air with no more than 100 metres to the winning post, and burst through to, in the end, win by a comfortable half-length margin over Jonker, with the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Signore Fox a short-head back in third.
The extraordinary ride earned Kah a sixth Group 1 success, leaving her out on her own as the winning-most Group 1 female rider in Australia, breaking Michelle Payne’s record of five.
Gollan was overawed at the result on his home track, a fifth Group 1 success for the trainer, and reflected on the challenge of getting the five-year-old to the race in the first instance, with Vega One having suffered several setbacks since his fourth-placed finish in the Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m) a year ago, with his place in yesterday’s race under a cloud even this week.
“I’m just so proud of these horses,” said Gollan. “This horse had a major injury last year after the Stradbroke, and had a long time (out). They rehabbed him really well down there in Victoria. He’s come back and it’s been a long-range mission to get here and then into the Stradbroke with him.
“This doesn’t get any better, I’m telling you, this is great.
“I didn’t know where to look. I saw Jonker trying to hold on and I’d seen him (Vega One) behind a wall of horses and all of a sudden off he went. It’s unreal. One-two in a Group 1 at home … it’s fantastic.
“We’ve had a torrid time with him this prep with a few little niggles. I was really happy with his work on Tuesday morning but we were on a knife-edge as to whether we were going to even be here this week.
“It’s so rewarding today. Jamie Kah doesn’t ride very often up here, but Jeez, I wish she’d come back here a little more often.”
Lope De Vega covered four books of mares at Patinack Farm in Victoria between 2011 and 2014, with Vega One from the final crop of 102 live foals.
The dual Group 1-winning stallion has sired VRC Lightning Stakes (Gr 1 1000m) winner Gytrash, as well as Vega Magic and five-time Group 1 winner Santa Ana Lane at the elite-level in Australia.
While Lope De Vega’s leading son Belardo has shuttled to Haunui Farm in New Zealand since 2017, his two-year-old Group 1-winning son and recent English 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) third placegetter, the Yulong-owned Lucky Vega, will commence stud duties at the Victorian farm from this season, and the stallion himself remains available for coverings to southern hemisphere time in Ireland.
Vega One, now the winner of six races from 25 starts and almost $1.5 million in prize-money, is the second stakes winner out of One Funny Honey (Distorted Humor), who was bought by Emirates Park when in foal to Lope De Vega for $40,000 from the Patinack Farm Dispersal Sale in 2014.
Her first named foal, One More Honey (Onemorenomore), won the 2017 Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), while her 2018-born foal by Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) fetched $800,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
She has a weanling colt by Fastnet Rock (Danehill) and is currently in foal to Capitalist (Written Tycoon).