Rich Hill Stud’s Shocking sires a brilliant top-flight double
Rich Hill Stud stallion Shocking was provided a brilliant Group 1 double at Te Rapa on Saturday when El Vencedor added a second top-flight victory to his CV in the Herbie Dyke Stakes before Australian raider Here To Shock became the stallion’s fifth individual elite-level winner in the BCD Group Sprint a few races later.
Australia took the spoils in Saturday’s eagerly anticipated trans-Tasman sprint clash at Te Rapa when the Lindsay Park-trained Here To Shock (Shocking) and Bosustow (Blue Point), who is trained by Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald, filled the quinella in the BCD Group Sprint (Gr 1, 1400m).
The presence of 11-race winner Here To Shock and last-start Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m) hero Bosustow added international spice to an elite field of sprinters, which also featured top-flight Kiwi talent such as Grail Seeker (Iffraaj), Savaglee (Savabeel), Luberon (Embellish), Waitak (Proisir) and Babylon Berlin (All Too Hard). But in the end, the local contingent was unable to repel the Australian invasion.
Here To Shock broke only fairly from gate eight, but his star Australian jockey Nash Rawiller allowed him to stride forward down Te Rapa’s long back straight and move into second spot on the outside of Savaglee.
Free-going mare Babylon Berlin took up her usual front-running role and clearly led the field up to the home turn, when Here To Shock cruised up alongside her.
Rawiller turned his mount loose after the 300-metre mark and the $500,000 race was all over. Here To Shock roared away, opening up a four-length winning margin.
Bosustow finished strongly out of the pack to take second in an all-Australian quinella. Standout three-year-old Savaglee was a long-head away in a gallant third, with the same margin back to the fourth-placed Waitak.
Here To Shock was the only ride at Te Rapa on Saturday for Rawiller, who is easing back into riding after dislocating his shoulder in a fall on the Sunshine Coast in early January.
“I’m rapt to come and win a Group 1 in New Zealand today,” he said. “I’ve had success whenever I’ve come here in the past.
“I’ve had a month off with a bad shoulder injury. I’ve tried to do all the right things coming back from that. I just thought he was the perfect horse to come over and kick off on. It puts a smile on your face when they don’t let you down.”
Here To Shock has now had 35 starts for 12 wins, seven placings and more than $2.6 million in stakes. He has won three of his five starts as a seven-year-old this season, including the Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) and the The Supernova (1400m).
“I’m a bit blown away by him,” Rawiller said. “He’s shown that he can do that. He’s just racing with so much confidence now and has won some very good races in this preparation.
“You sense he could go back to Australia and be very competitive in a Group 1 while he’s fit and confident and others might still be on their way up. He’s really got his tail up, this horse. He’s turned his career around and he just gives you a lot of confidence going forward.”
Here To Shock’s part-owner Rob Slade paid just $70,000 to buy him from Cambridge Stud’s draft at Karaka in 2019. He is trained by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, who are also lining up a shot at the $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie next month with Evaporate (Per Incanto).
“It’s so special to come here and win this race,” Will Hayes said. “I’m just so proud of the team and everyone back home. This horse presented so well on raceday today and it was a terrific ride by Nash.
“It’s my first time here at Te Rapa, but with that long run into the first corner, it gave Here To Shock a nice chance to find his rhythm and get across when he could. He got a bit of cover. He was slightly overdoing it early, but as the race went on, he got more and more comfortable and then gave a good kick at the top of the straight. He was really dominant today.
“We picked out this race and came over because we thought he was well placed. It’s good to see the form stand up. He’s replicated that good form from his Supernova win. He’s incredibly consistent.
“We can’t thank New Zealand racing enough. With the prize-money on offer, it was a no-brainer to come here today. It was a hit-and-run mission on this race, because we’ve got some plans for him in the autumn in either Melbourne or Sydney. We’ll just space his runs, because we know that works for him.
“But we’re looking forward to coming back over again next month with Evaporate. Let’s hope we can pinch another one.”
Both the BCD Group Sprint and Pakenham’s Supernova are legs of the Sport Nation Champion Sprint Series, which concludes with the King’s Plate (Gr 3, 1200m) at Ellerslie on March 8. Here To Shock has now earned ten points, which gives him an equal lead alongside Sistema Railway (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Crocetti (Zacinto).
El Vencedor dominates Herbie Dyke Stakes
Earlier in the afternoon, the ever-improving El Vencedor thrust Shocking into the spotlight once again when he took his career earnings past $1 million with a stunning three-length runaway triumph in the Herbie Dyke Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
The six-year-old gelding initially showed promise as a sprinter, winning over 1200 metres in both New Zealand and Australia as a three-year-old and placing in the Concorde Handicap (Gr 3, 1200m) and Newmarket Handicap (Listed, 1200m) at four.
But El Vencedor has come into his own over longer distances at the ages of five and six, starting with a runner-up finish in last year’s Thorndon Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) in his first attempt at Group 1 level. He followed that up with a fourth in the Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (Gr 1 1600m) and a brilliant breakthrough victory in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Ellerslie.
El Vencedor’s prospects of matching or even exceeding those weight-for-age heroics in this preparation looked bleak when he finished last of 13 runners in the Mufhasa Classic (Gr 1, 1600m) at Trentham in early December, but his turnaround since then has been extraordinary.
Trainer Stephen Marsh has brought the six-year-old back to his very best, while Australian-based jockey Rory Hutchings has clicked superbly with the gelding during his temporary return to New Zealand’s riding ranks this summer.
El Vencedor’s resurgence began with a close third behind Snazzytavi (Tavistock) and La Crique (Vadamos) in the Zabeel Classic (Gr 1, 2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. He returned to the Auckland track for last Saturday’s Fulton Family Stakes (Listed, 1500m), which Marsh mainly used as a pipe-opener for the Herbie Dyke. But El Vencedor carried his 61-kilogram topweight to an amazing five-length romp, sending a clear warning to those who were going to oppose him at Te Rapa.
His fixed-odds quote tumbled through the seven days between those two runs, eventually jumping as a $2 favourite in a race turned upside down by the midweek defections of Snazzytavi and Orchestral (Savabeel).
Hutchings initially tried to dictate the terms of Saturday’s $700,000 feature, sending El Vencedor to the lead and turning into the back straight at only a steady tempo. But that plan went out the window when the slackening pace made the South Island raider Matscot (Haradasun) over-race, which left his jockey Vinnie Colgan with no option but to allow him to stride forward to the front.
El Vencedor tracked that rival until around the 600-metre mark, when Hutchings released the brakes and his mount took control of the race again. Within the space of just a handful of big bounds, he put a big gap between himself and the rest of the field.
The chasers went to work in the straight, led by La Crique and the strong-finishing back-markers Whangaehu (Proisir) and Ladies Man (Zed), but El Vencedor was out on his own in front.
“This gives me a lot of satisfaction and I’m very proud of the horse,” Marsh said. “We had a plan to run him last Saturday and have him hard fit and ready to go today.
“This takes him well over $1 million now and he’s just gone to another level. He seems to have finally matured.
“He won a 1200-metres race in Australia early on in his career and looked like he could win a Railway. He’s bred to stay, but he had never quite put everything together. Now he’s finally done that.”
Hutchings has been in the saddle for El Vencedor’s Zabeel Classic placing, a five-length trial win at Matamata on January 14, and his power-packed performances in the Fulton Family Stakes and Herbie Dyke.
“The reason I came home was to try to ride a big winner, and I’ve knocked it off,” the 29-year-old said.
“The horse gave me an incredible feeling. It’s hard to be that confident in a Group One, but when he let down, I knew they’d have to be very good to catch him. I thought that on Boxing Day at Ellerslie too, and there was no Snazzytavi in this field today.
“I was a little bit worried when the other horse went forward and took over. I’d just got my bloke into a good rhythm, and then that fired him up for probably 50 metres. But I was able to pop away from the fence and get him back into the rhythm again. The further we went, the stronger he got.
“My arms were getting tired around the 600 metres, so I said, ‘Time to go, boy. Let’s make them chase us.’ The rest is history.”
Bred and raced by Mark Freeman and David Price, El Vencedor has now had 39 starts for 10 wins, 14 placings and more than $1.2 million in prize-money.
Saturday’s victory also took El Vencedor to the top of the points table for the Rich Hill Champion Middle Distance Series, which carries bonus payments of $300,000 for the horse that finishes first, $150,000 for second and $50,000 for third.
The series will culminate in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie, a race El Vencedor landed last year, on Champions Day on March 8.
“We’ve still got Ellerslie, his favourite track, to go back to,” Marsh said. “He’s a big boy who’ll probably need to do something else between now and then. We’ll just play around with him and make sure we perfect his preparation.”
Leica Lucy survives scare in Fillies’ Classic
Rising star Leica Lucy (Derryn) had to live up to her fast-growing reputation, getting herself out of deep trouble in the straight and winning the David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (Gr 2, 2000m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.
The classy daughter of Derryn (Hinchinbrook) went into the $275,000 feature as the hottest favourite of the day at $1.30, having won three of her four starts including dominant recent victories in the Eulogy Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) and Desert Gold Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m).
Soon after rounding the home turn at Te Rapa on Saturday, however, Leica Lucy was a long way from a certainty. She enjoyed a comfortable run in fourth along the rail, but then the leaders Wyndsong (Wyndspelle) and Skymax (Ferrando) started to slow down in front of her. At the same time, top jockey Michael McNab positioned his mount Top Shelf right next to the favourite and kept her in a pocket.
Leica Lucy’s jockey Craig Grylls searched frantically for a way through as time quickly ran out. He zigged and zagged and was shut out of a gap that closed in front of him when Top Shelf strode past Skymax and Wyndsong to take the lead three off the fence.
Grylls had to switch back across heels to Top Shelf’s outside with 200 metres remaining, and then Leica Lucy did the rest. She changed gears and drove past that rival, eventually opening up a comfortable winning margin of a length and three-quarters.
“With a horse like her, when you’re not going to be leading, there’s always that danger when you draw inside,” Grylls said. “The ones in front of you start stopping, while others start to improve around the outside of you. I just had to wait for a way through.
“Once she got a gap, she probably won even more easily than she did last time. I didn’t have to go for her with the stick. She’s really extended through the line strongly. Going up to 2000m for the first time today, her turn of foot was probably even better than last time. She’s very exciting.”
Leica Lucy is raced by her breeders, Heather and Peter Crofskey. During the week, they sold a share in the ownership to prominent Australian investor Ozzie Kheir. It was a case of déjà vu for Kheir, who also bought into Molly Bloom (Ace High) a few days before she won the Fillies’ Classic last year.
Trained by Robbie Patterson, Leica Lucy has now had five starts for four wins, a placing and more than $353,000 in stakes.
“That was a hard watch today,” Patterson admitted. “I could see that it was going to happen too, when Michael McNab was on our outside. He’s a very good rider and he was going to make things tough. But she just showed her quality.
“There was a lot of pressure on before this race, obviously with the sale and Ozzie joining in. He’s been fantastic, and Pete and Heather are great friends and good owners. So there was a lot of pressure going into this, and halfway up the straight it was going all wrong and pear-shaped and I was worried. But, hey, I’ve got a class rider and a class filly. I had complete confidence that she would win today, although there’s a lot of pressure when they’re paying $1.30 in a Group 2.
“I’ve just got so much confidence in the horse. I’ve never had a horse that gives me this much confidence. Everything she does is just so professional. She’s just great.”
Leica Lucy is now the $2.20 favourite for the New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) at Trentham on March 22. Patterson said her final lead-up run will be in the Lowland Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) at the same venue on March 2.
“She’ll go back to Trentham, where she loves the big, roomy track,” the New Plymouth trainer said. “It’s three weeks from today into the Lowland, and another three weeks into the Oaks. After that, she’ll go across to Chris Waller. I might give Chris a ring and give him a bit of advice! But, no, Chris is going to get a lovely filly and I’m just so rapt for the owners.”
Lightning has struck twice for the Crofskeys, who had another top-class filly 12 years ago with Habibi (Ekraar). That horse won six of her nine starts including the New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) and two Group Two races. She also placed in the Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) in Sydney, and later performed at stakes level in the United States under different ownership.
“This is a wonderful day for us,” Heather Crofskey said on Saturday. “It’s the day that we’re realising just how good a horse we have. Robbie has really liked her from the start. He told us she might be the best we’ve ever had.
“We have to acknowledge our new partner in the ownership, Ozzie, who’s joining us on this journey now. We’re off to a great start today and even though he’s not here on course, he’s definitely watching. Now it’s on to the Oaks.”
Leica Lucy has moved up to 20 points in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series and sits in second place behind Alabama Lass (Alabama Express) (21 points), who is unlikely to take any further part in the series.