Duncan Creek (centre) responds to a vigorous ride from jockey Joe Doyle to get his head in front of Candle (left) and Gee String (right) to win a rating 75 race over 1200m at Woodville on Thursday last week.
Hastings trainer Patrick Campbell thinks talented galloper Duncan Creek has finally come of age after the 4-year-old showed real tenacity to score a last-stride victory in an $18,500 rating 75 race at Woodville on Thursday last week.
Campbell has always held the son of Super Easy in high regard, but the horse’s racing manners and general attitude have let him down in the past and he has also been unlucky in several of his races.
Last week’s success was just his second from 16 starts, but he also boasts five second placings, most of them by very narrow margins and against tough opposition.
Duncan Creek made his race debut in a 1200m 2-year-old race at Whanganui in April last year and, unfortunately, ran into an extra-smart youngster called Prowess.
Duncan Creek proved no match for that filly, who went on to become one of the star 3-year-olds of last season and a Gr.1 winner in both New Zealand and Australia. However, his chances weren’t helped by the fact he had difficulty obtaining clear running until the final 250m, a thing that has plagued him on occasions since.
He showed a glimpse of his real ability when winning at his second start in a 1200m 2-year-old race at Otaki in May last year and followed that up with a fourth in the listed Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Waverley, where he was slow away from an outside draw and raced wide throughout.
Campbell decided to spell the horse after that and he resumed in the listed El Roca-Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m) on the first day of the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival, in September last year. He finished only fifth of 10 but didn’t help his chances by again being slow away and over-racing in the running.
He then finished second over 1300m on the third day of that Hawke’s Bay spring carnival and the horse who beat him was Pennyweka, who went on to win not only the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks, but the Gr.1 ATC Oaks in Sydney.
Duncan Creek then finished fourth in his next two starts, with his rider being inconvenienced by a slipped saddle in the first of them and then he over-raced again when stepped up to 1600m in the second one.
Campbell decided to try him against the older horses in a rating 65 race over 1400m at Hastings in early December and he went down by only half a head after being knocked off stride when he bumped with the winner just short of the line.
Duncan Creek then contested the Gr.2 $140,000 Wellington Guineas (1400m) in January where he was taken back in the early stages, from the extreme outside draw, and was held up rounding the home turn before unleashing a powerful finish to get up for second, beaten a neck.
Campbell, frustrated by the horse’s tendency to miss the start, decided to add blinkers to his gear for a 1400m race at Awapuni in March and, after again having to cover extra ground in the running, he charged late to fill another second placing, beaten a nose.
He had three more starts last season for a seventh and two fourths before being put out for a spell.
The break looks to have been the making of the horse as he has come back a lot more settled and a lot stronger.
He resumed with a sixth placing in a rating 65 race over 1300m on the first day of this year’s Colliers Hawkes Bay Spring Carnival, on September 9, where he was again awkwardly away and covered extra ground in the running.
Duncan Creek was having his second start back when he lined up over at Woodville last week and was reunited with Irish-born jockey Joe Doyle, who was aboard when he finished second in the Wellington Guineas and in two of his other runner-up placings.
Doyle got the horse to begin on terms with the rest of the field and then settled him into a perfect trail behind the leaders.
Once in the straight, Doyle angled his mount around heels and he quickly went after the leader, Gee String, with Candle emerging from behind them to force a three-way finish.
The three went neck to neck in the drive to the line but Doyle was able to extract that bit more out of Duncan Creek and he lunged right on the line to win by half a head.
Duncan Creek is owned by his Dannevirke breeder, Alex Smith, and is out of the King’s Chapel mare Classic Blonde.
Smith has bred a number of horses out of the mare with the best performer being Eckhart (by Pentire), who won seven races in Australia, while Chouxtorial and Friday Woolfe are other winners she has produced.
Smith is also racing a 3-year-old colt called Fonzi (by Shamexpress) out of the mare and he has recorded two second placings from two starts this season for Matamata trainer Chad Ormsby.
Campbell said this week that Duncan Creek had come through last week’s winning run amazingly well and he will now aim him at a $65,000 rating 75 race over 1400m on the third day of the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, on October 14.
Ladies Day at today’s Hastings races
Today’s second day of the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Racing Carnival will not only feature some of the country’s best gallopers in action, but an abundance of other entertainment for those on course.
It has been named Ladies Day and some of the highlights include a special Fashion In The Field competition and live music by renowned New Zealand band The Black Seeds.
The carnival began with The Tarzino Trophy Daffodil Raceday, on September 9, with the running of the first Gr.1 race of the new season. It resulted in a thrilling finish, with Skew Wiff heading off a star-studded line-up.
Today sees the running of the second Gr.1 race of the carnival, the $400,000 Arrowfield Stud Plate. The 1600m weight-for-age event has also drawn an outstanding field, including last year’s winner La Crique and fellow Gr.1 winners Callsign Mav, Sharp ‘N’ Smart, Pier, Mustang Valley and Legarto.
Colliers Hawke’s Bay is proud to be the title sponsor of the carnival for the second year running, with managing partner Simon Tremain saying: “This partnership is about bringing the spring carnival back to its glory days, and to give the community something special to look forward to in the calendar.
“Last year it was great to see people out and about enjoying race days again following Covid, and this year it’s especially important that the people have something to celebrate after the brutal effects of Cyclone Gabrielle on the region.
“It’s fantastic we can continue our support through Colliers as part of our wider group of companies.”
Tremain has been involved with racing for many years, having raced a number of horses and as a former board member of Hawke’s Bay Racing.
Colliers Hawke’s Bay director Danny Blair and the rest of the team are also keen racing supporters.
“Our involvement with racing is one thing, but as Simon said, we’re really about supporting people — our clients, associates and friends are all integral parts of the local community and the business we do here. We wanted to be able to give something back,” Blair says.
Hawke’s Bay Racing chief executive Aaron Hamilton says they are delighted Colliers is continuing as the title sponsor.
“We’ve been working hard to ensure that all three days of the carnival are outstanding — we’re privileged to already have first-class racing here in Hastings,” he says.
“But now we are working on raising the bar on the full package and we’ve really upped the ante with our hospitality options this year.
“The fully mobile Nation Bar has been brought to Hawke’s Bay for the first time to create a bespoke VIP venue with 220sq m of covered floor space — it’ll be a great spot to watch the racing and entertainment from and Colliers will be hosting 100 VIP clients in that area this Saturday.”
There will be a nine-race programme today, with the other feature race being the Gr. 2 $175,000 AHD Animal Direct Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m), which has drawn a small but select field of the country’s best 3-year-olds.
The gates will open at 11am, with the first race timed for 12.30pm and the last at 5.09pm.
Changes to NZ black-type races
The New Zealand Pattern Committee (NZPC) has completed its annual review of black-type racing in New Zealand, with several changes made to the schedule of feature races for 2023-24.
But the 12 black-type races staged by Hawke’s Bay Racing during the season have all retained their status.
The total number of black-type races has been reduced by eight to 142 races. This is due to a downward trend in the overall number of races being run every season, leading to an increasingly disproportionate number of races holding black-type status.
The eight races that have lost their listed status are the Staphanos Classic (1950m), the Feilding Cup (2100m), the Levin Stakes (1200m), the Newmarket Handicap (1200m), the Timaru Cup (1600m), the New Zealand St Leger (2600m), the Riverton Cup (2147m) and the Easter Cup (1600m).
In another notable change, the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) has returned to its previous midsummer slot and will be run at Trentham on January 13. In a direct swap with the Levin Classic, the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m) has been moved from January to March.
To act as a better lead-in to the Levin Classic, the Gr. 2 Auckland Guineas (1600m) will switch from New Year’s Day to Boxing Day and will be run over 1400m. The listed Uncle Remus Stakes (1400m), previously part of the Boxing Day meeting, has been put back to February.
Another 3-year-old feature that has a new position on the calendar is Whanganui’s listed Fillies’ Stakes (1200m). Previously run in September, it will this year be held on December 2.
The Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) at the New Zealand Cup carnival in November has been downgraded from Gr.3 to listed.
On the other side of the coin, two races were upgraded — most notably the Soliloquy Stakes (1400m), which will this year be run at Pukekohe on October 28 and now has Gr.2 status.
The NZPC has a list of races on a watch list for potential promotion to the pattern, including a 2-year-old race at Hastings in April.
The Christmas story also recalls another birth, John. This is why it all matters to me.