New Zealand Latest
28 for Almanzor
Cambridge Stud stallion Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) chalked up his 28th individual stakes winner when First Five (5 g ex Payette by Volksraad) scored a dominant victory in Saturday’s J Swap Sprint (Gr 3, 1400m) at Te Rapa. Ridden by Lynsey Satherley for David Greene, the gelded five-year-old produced an excellent turn of foot inside the final 150 metres to hit the front and clear away by 1.8 lengths over Tuxedo (Tivaci), who also came home well. There was a further 0.8 lengths back to Kitty Flash (Ace High) in third. First Five was bred by Gerald Shand, who co-owns him along with Jenna McLeod and Jackie and Philip Rogers, and is out of the winning Volksraad (Green Desert) mare Payette. Almanzor is standing for a fee of NZ$30,000 (plus GST).
First Five win no surprise to Greene
Winning trainer David Greene admitted that First Five’s success in the J Swap Sprint came as no surprise to him. “I can’t say it is unexpected to be honest, as we have had a massive rap on this horse for a long time,” Greene said. “We haven’t seen the best of him yet and he has stamped himself as a real Group 1 contender. There are a few conversations to be had now about whether we are wanting to drop back to 1200 metres for something like the Telegraph, which is a very hard run 1200 metres. He is just so good at this distance [1400 metres], I think back here for the [BCD Group] Sprint is the big one, but how we get there is the conversation to be had. This guy is up with the best horses we have had and it is a pleasure to watch him at trackwork each morning, with the way he goes through his gears.”
Hinekaha dominates Cal Isuzu Stakes
The Andrew Forsman-trained Hinekaha (4 m Savabeel – Hinerangi by Fastnet Rock) ran out an all-the-way winner of Saturday’s Cal Isuzu Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) at Te Rapa, her second career stakes win and first at Group level. Ridden from the front by Craig Grylls, the four-year-old daughter of Savabeel (Zabeel) never saw another rival and kept on well inside the closing stages to hold the fast-finishing Queen Zou (Zoustar) by 0.8 lengths. There was a further 0.3 lengths back to Jaarffi (Iffraaj) in third. “I spoke to Craig [Grylls] and we thought the logical thing would be for Electron to lead,” Forsman said. “I thought if we hand up and they find their spots to quickly we don’t want to be caught in a situation where it is a sit and sprint home. We really wanted to make it a strong run mile which would suit her a lot better than the others. She will get better as she strengthens and matures, but she has come on in leaps and bounds in this prep. She really has developed and has a lot of class as she has only had the nine starts and is now a Group 2 winner. We have always rated her highly, but we just had to stop at the right times and back off her as a three -year-old. Christopher and Susanna [Grace, owners] are just so patient to let us do that and it has worked for her. We will just enjoy today now and then start looking at where to go next.”
Sharp ‘N’ Smart lands first win since Derby in Waikato Cup
New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Sharp ‘N’ Smart (6 g Redwood – Queen Margaret by Swiss Ace) secured his first victory since that success back in March 2023 when narrowly landing the Waikato Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) at Te Rapa on Saturday. The Team Rogerson-trained six-year-old, who is a three-time winner at Group 1 level, had the lead turning for home and, once challenged by The Odyssey (Zacinto), found plenty for pressure under George Rooke to fend off that rival and deny by the lunging Gigi (Ghibellines) by 0.2 lengths. The Odyssey finished a further 0.2 lengths back in third. “I’m so proud of this horse and the team behind this horse as it has been a great journey,” Debbie Rogerson, who trains in partnership with her husband Graeme, said. “I set him for this race in my home town as we just wanted to win it. It was a good run and he was tough, a credit to the horse. Everyone has been knocking the horse but they don’t know what has been wrong with him. He had an horrific bacterial virus and it took him 12 months to get over it. We gave him a good spell and we knew this time in he was getting back to his best, so it might be back to the Melbourne Cup next year. We might look at the Queen Elizabeth [Stakes] next and then the Auckland Cup.”