Magic Millions Sunlight Plate
Sunlight seeker Akaysha hunts gold on the coast
Paul Symes
ANZ News
A simple text message from trainer Peter Snowden told Macquarie Stud supremo David Baxter everything he needed to know as his flashy three-year-old filly Akaysha (Capitalist) bids to land a major windfall in this Saturday’s Magic Millions Sunlight Plate (1100m) at the Gold Coast.
“She’s ready to go” was the short but sweet missive Baxter received from a man he has known and trusted for the best part of five decades working together in the industry.
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It was no doubt music to the ears of Baxter, who together with his sons will make the journey north to the Gold Coast on Friday ahead of the $3 million showpiece which headlines the opening day of the revamped Magic Millions Carnival.
From the moment a deal had been struck with slot holders Archer Park Racing, Snowden and Baxter set about plotting a ‘hit and run’ Queensland mission for Akaysha, which they hope culminates in them lifting a cheque for $1.2 million on the Glitter Strip.
With yearling preparations in full swing back home on the Wellington (NSW) farm he has called his office for just shy of 50 years, duty calls and so Baxter won’t be partying in Surfers Paradise should his filly do the business.
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A long-time breeder, racehorse owner and bookmaker, he is also well aware of racing’s volatility and knows you can be a prince one day and a pauper the next.
That is not to say, however, that Baxter isn’t relishing the prospect of seeing Akaysha carry Macquarie Stud’s orange and black silks under the lights on Saturday evening.
Despite having narrowly failed to add to her debut victory, five of Akaysha’s six subsequent starts have been in stakes company and she has placed in three of them, including nailbiting runner-up finishes behind My Gladiola (I Am Invincible) and Marhoona (Snitzel) in the Cap d’Antibes Stakes (Listed, 1100m) and the Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m) respectively.
Akaysha (AUS)
3yo: (26Oct22 b f)
Trainer: Peter Snowden
Owner: D A Baxter
Sire: Capitalist
Dam: Zingaling
Dam's Sire: Redoute's Choice
Breeder: Macquarie Stud
After spending a fortnight in the paddock to recuperate from her spring exertions, she was brought back into work and will travel up to Queensland overnight on Wednesday ahead of the second edition of the Sunlight 3YO Plate.
“It would obviously be a dream come true to win a race worth $3 million,” Baxter told ANZ News.
“I’ve learned not to get your feet too far off the ground, because if you do you just end up hitting the ground even harder. The funerals outnumber the weddings, especially when you get to my age, but you’ve still got to have your dreams in this game.
“If she didn’t come up or either party wasn’t happy with her for whatever reason, then we would have pulled her out. But from all reports she’s been in great order, and her last bit of fast work on Saturday was excellent.
“Peter’s very busy training his horses and I’m flat out on the farm, so we don’t bother with too much small talk. He just sent me a text the other day to say she’s ready to go, so that’s good enough for me. I think she’s got a very good chance, the race should set up nicely for her and the faster they go, the better for her.”
As the final foal produced by his homebred mare Zingaling (Redoute’s Choice), who claimed both the 2010 P J Bell Stakes (Listed, 1200m) and the following year’s Birthday Card Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) for trainer Kris Lees, Akaysha was always going to hold a special place in Baxter’s heart.
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Despite having produced the 2024 Ramornie Handicap (Listed, 1200m) winner Ka Bling (Capitalist) and Knit ‘n’ Purl (More Than Ready), whose progeny include stakes winner Brudenell (Russian Revolution), the precocity Akaysha has shown in her nascent career may mean the recently retired Zingaling saved her best for last.
“It’s a big thrill for us to have bred this filly, her mother and grandmother [Done That],” said Baxter, who rates Group 1 heroines Flitter (Bluebird) and Shindig (Straight Strike) amongst the finest graduates from Macquarie’s fertile pastures.
“We’ve already had plenty of returns on our investment in the family, even before the filly runs in a $3 million race. It makes all the hard work worthwhile and there’s always plenty of hard work in this game, not always with much reward.
“Unfortunately we won’t have any more siblings because we had to retire Zingaling last year. She had an ovarian cyst which we had to remove and then she missed the following season, so we decided to call it a day. She was a good race filly for us and she was a good producer as a broodmare, we have sold some of her foals for decent money so she owes us nothing and she can live out her days in one of our paddocks.
“We still own three of Akaysha’s sisters and we sold another [Knit ‘n’ Purl] in foal to Anamoe for $300,000 [to Alma Vale] at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale last year, so the family has been good to us. Before we sold Knit ‘n’ Purl she had a beautiful Anamoe filly which we’ll be taking to the Easter Sale this year and her half-sister Ringdembells, who was a pretty sharp race filly before she went amiss, is also in foal to Anamoe. I’m already getting pretty excited about that, because I’ve seen about 20 of his foals and I’m yet to come across one that I didn’t really like.”
“Peter’s very busy training his horses and I’m flat out on the farm, so we don’t bother with too much small talk. He just sent me a text the other day to say she’s ready to go, so that’s good enough for me. I think she’s got a very good chance
The Inglis Easter Yearling Sale has been a particularly profitable auction for Macquarie Stud down the years, and it had been the intention to sell Zingaling’s final foal at the Riverside Stables complex in 2023.
However, when Lot 5 fell short of her $200,000 reserved price Baxter loaded the filly onto the truck and took her back to her birthplace, before sending her to Snowden’s Randwick stables.
The positive early reports were fully vindicated when Akaysha won on debut at Kembla Grange in a slick time, in the process beating home her high-profile stablemate and subsequent stakes winner Beadman (Snitzel).
After her highly creditable efforts in the Alinghi Stakes (Listed, 1100m) and the Red Roses (Gr 3, 1100m) during the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival, the team at Archer Park had seen enough promise in the filly and so an offer to secure her services was made on their behalf by leading bloodstock agent Jim Clarke.
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The Queensland-based syndicators, one of 12 slot holders who have paid $175,000 each, had previously teamed up with Snowden to run Zealously (Harry Angel) in the inaugural edition of the Sunlight Plate 12 months ago.
A similar arrangement was swiftly reached 12 months on and having come through a pre-Christmas trial in fine fettle, Akaysha has been building very nicely towards her moment in the sun.
Since winning over 1000 metres on debut, Akaysha has raced exclusively over the Sunlight distance of 1100 metres and with a fierce tempo likely to play into the backmarker’s hands, it is easy to see why the filly currently holds third favouritism behind smart colt Grafterburners (Graff), who will be partnered by James McDonald.
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While respectful of Kelly Schweida’s winning machine, the bookmaker in Baxter believes his current quote of $2.80 offers limited value and, given the potential upside, he is perhaps more wary of another interstate raider in Ice Kool (Zoustar) who remains unbeaten in his two starts for Warwick Farm trainer David Pfieffer.
Given Akaysha’s tendency to sit back before unleashing late, Tom Sherry may need the luck of the Irish if the Dublin-born jockey is to plot a path to victory from barrier one. But despite the apparent setback, Baxter is adamant he wouldn’t swap his girl for anything.
“It looks a really nice race for her first-up,” he said.
“We gave her three spaced-out runs in Melbourne in the spring, and even though she didn’t win she went really well in all three. When she got back to Sydney after Oaks Day, the plan was to give her a break.
“But she was jumping out of her skin, and the guys from Archer Park happened to give me a call to ask us about running her in the Sunlight. I left it up to Peter and he said she’s well enough, so she only had a fortnight in the paddock before returning to the stables and getting ready for this.
“She goes particularly well fresh, and if you look at her first-up run in the Cap d’Antibes at Flemington, it was a terrific effort. If she can replicate that on Saturday, she’ll have a great chance.”
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Regardless of the result on Saturday, Akaysha is likely to head for a brief spell with a view to picking off a stakes race at the end of the autumn carnival which would rubber stamp her future as a broodmare.
Whether that future lies at Macquarie or elsewhere is entirely dependent on the size of any offers which may be received. In an ideal world, once her racing days are done the filly would return to the farm where she took her first steps to continue the family legacy, but, like most boutique breeders, Baxter is realistic enough to concede that sentiment doesn’t put food on the table.
“The plan at this stage is for her to join our broodmare band on the farm, but if the right offer came along then we’d obviously have to consider it,” he said.
“We’ve had a bit of interest in her in the past, but so far it hasn’t come to anything. I always tell people that I can’t stop them making an offer and I dare say there may be a bit more interest in her if she managed to win on Saturday or picked up a stakes race along the journey, but we’ll worry about that if and when it happens. It’s a pretty good position for us to be in, so we’ll just enjoy ourselves on Saturday and then see what the future holds.”
