Hunta Pence (outer) sticks his head out right on the line to snatch a nose decision over Dolcetto.
Hunta Pence (outer) sticks his head out right on the line to snatch a nose decision over Dolcetto.
Hastings-trained Hunta Pence recorded his biggest win and finally broke his Awapuni track hoodoo with a narrow victory in last Saturday's Group 3 $100,000 Manawatu Cup.
The 8-year-old gelding, prepared and part-owned by Patrick Campbell, chalked up his 10th win from 55 starts, with his previous biggest success coming in last month's Listed $50,000 Wanganui Cup (2040m).
The son of No Excuse Needed was having his 11th start on the Awapuni track and had never managed to fill a first three placing in 10 previous outings there.
Darryl Bradley gives a four-finger salute as he brings Hunta Pence back to scale at the head of the field after chalking up his fourth Manawatu Cup success.
He was having his third consecutive start in the Manawatu Cup after fifth placings in both 2018 and 2019.
Hunta Pence, who has now won in excess of $250,000 in stake money, indicated he was ready for a big performance last Saturday after his last start Wanganui Cup win and an excellent gallop at the Hastings track on Tuesday of last week.
Darryl Bradley, who was aboard Hunta Pence in his Wanganui Cup success, again had the reins last Saturday. He jumped the horse out well from an inside draw to take an early lead before settling him in sixth place.
They were momentarily held up entering the last 700m but Bradley was able to angle the horse into the clear rounding the home bend and he quickly went up to challenge for the lead.
Dolcetto came to join him and the two settled down to fight out the finish, going stride for stride until Hunta Pence managed to get his nose in front right on the line.
Bradley said this week he didn't know whether his mount had got in the deciding stride.
"He was a way better horse than when he won the Wanganui Cup and he really stuck his head out and tried," he said.
"I knew I was in front just before the line but then Dolcetto made another lunge and I wasn't sure. I was glad when I got the judge's call."
It was 54-year-old Bradley's fourth win in the Manawatu Cup, following Rising Heights in 2003, Jonbalena in 2008 and Tullaroan in 2010.
"It has been a good race for me as I've also had some good minor placings in it," he added.
Patrick Campbell had been confident of a good showing by Hunta Pence last Saturday, saying his charge had thrived since his Wanganui Cup win. But he still had doubts whether the horse would run out a tough 2300m.
"I've always thought he was best at around 2000m as a couple of times when he has stepped to 2200m and further he has just been found wanting in the last 200m," he said.
Hunta Pence seems to be a lot stronger horse now and that is mostly attributed to Campbell varying the horse's work, taking him to the Hastings track and also schooling him on another property. He sent him north to Sam Logan's Cambridge stable earlier this year where the horse was extensively schooled and passed his hurdling ticket.
The horse has enjoyed a week's break in the paddock since Saturday and will now be aimed at the Group 3 $70,000 Trentham Stakes (2100m) on the first day of the Wellington Cup carnival, on January 16.
Campbell races Hunta Pence in partnership with five other Hawke's Bay people, Shaun Govsky, Lindsay McIntosh, Dean Smith and Mike and Wendy Timmins along with Ashburton-based Norm Stewart.
Smith, who helps out in Campbell's stable, is a former successful trainer and also part-owned the 2007 Manawatu Cup winner Nanjara, who was trained on the Awapuni track by Lisa Latta.
Johnson brings up magical tally It took him a week to finally establish a new national record of 2452 race wins in New Zealand but veteran jockey Chris Johnson did it in style at Awapuni last Saturday.
The 56-year-old required one winner to surpass the previous mark set by David Walsh after drawing level at Invercargill the previous Saturday and, in typical Johnson fashion, he set the new benchmark with a performance befitting the occasion aboard Sassenach in race four.
Jockey Chris Johnson gives a thumbs up after finally breaking the record for the most wins in New Zealand.
Johnson dropped the Austin Brown-trained 5-year-old mare to the rear of the field in the Rating 65 event over 2100m, saving every inch of ground in the running before searching for gaps approaching the home turn.
Johnson bided his time and when the field started to spread at the 250m, he managed to weave Sassenach into the open before driving her to the front in the final stages to claim his place in New Zealand racing history.
It has been an up-and-down journey for Johnson to reach the milestone, having battled officialdom and personal demons along the way. But the record is testament to his persistence, longevity and determination.
"It's been a long road, but I've always said it will happen when it happens. I've had a lot of support over the years, with so many people to thank," Johnson said.
"It took a while to get the one to equal the record and now I've finally got there. Racing has been good to me and I've been lucky to ride some very good horses along the way.
"I've got no plans to retire and, while I can still ride and enjoy it, I just hope to keep going."
Johnson rode his first winner at his very first ride in January 1981, guiding Noble Star to success at Tauherenikau for his boss, Woodville trainer Scott Hammersley.
He won his first premiership in the 1995-96 season with 139 wins, a tally that remains his season best, though he was able to add a second premiership title with 112 wins in 2017-18.
He has won 21 Group 1 races going back to the 1984 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton when he guided Canterbury Belle to success. He has since gone on to win the 1000 Guineas on three further occasions, aboard Phillipa Rush in 1989, Tartan Tights in 1994 and Tycoon Lil in 1997.
But perhaps his signature race has been the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham, a race he has won five times with wins aboard Domino in 1990, Tartan Tights in 1995, Sawatdee in 1997, Tycoon Lil in 1998 and Savvy Coup in 2018.
He rode Hall Of Fame galloper Rough Habit to win the Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) at Trentham in 1992, while Loader provided him with the 1996 Group 1 sprint double with the Railway Handicap at Ellerslie and Telegraph Handicap at Trentham.
His other Group 1 victories include the 1986 Wellington Cup on Samasaan and 1988 Auckland Cup on Sea Swift.
High-class mare Final Touch has been his most successful Group 1 mount, with the pair combining to win the 2013 Telegraph, 2013 Waikato Sprint and 2014 Captain Cook Stakes for his staunch supporters John and Karen Parsons.
Johnson has established himself as one of New Zealand's most talented riders, also winning several jumping features including Grand National Hurdle (4200m) victories aboard Ampac in 1989, Woodbine Blue Chip in 1993 and Kid Colombus in 2011.
What has made his record all the more meritorious is that he took a break from riding for seven years from 1998, taking time out to travel overseas before returning home to work on farms and in stables before resuming race-riding in 2005.
Te Akau Shark retired One of New Zealand's most exciting weight-for-age gallopers, dual Group 1 winner Te Akau Shark, has been retired.
The Rip Van Winkle gelding hasn't raced since finishing fifth in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Sydney's Randwick track in April. He underwent optic implant surgery for a rare eye condition in June and, while recovering from that operation, he picked up a lung infection.
"It's disappointing that he was unable to get over his eye complaints, but he'll be remembered as one of the most naturally gifted horses we have had through our stables," trainer Jamie Richards said.
"He's always shown to possess natural talent and ability, but ultimately he had a weakness in his eyes that unfortunately caught up with him and stopped him getting back to the races.
"It's a pity, because he was just starting to become a fully mature racehorse and had so much more left to give."
In an injury-plagued career Te Akau Shark earned a cult, winning seven of his 14 starts and placed in five others and amassing more than A$1.5million in stake money.
Earlier this year, the gelding secured his first Group 1 victory in the BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa before quickly adding to his elite-level tally when taking out the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.
Te Akau Shark was purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis for $230,000 at the 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run 2-year-old sale and was raced by a large group of owners including Australian rugby league star Paul Gallen.
The star galloper will now enjoy retirement at Te Akau alongside another famous Group 1 winning chestnut, Gingernuts.
Vale Terrill Charles Mid-Canterbury trainer Terrill Charles has died after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Charles was diagnosed five years ago with an aggressive form of brain cancer and given just four and a half months to live.
But she stubbornly refused to let cancer rule her life and together with partner Peter Corbett, who has overcome health issues of his own in recent years, built up a boutique team of thoroughbreds.
The stable was to the fore last year when lining up three runners in the Group 3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton, with bonny mare Dee And Gee taking top honours for the couple.
There were understandably emotional scenes in the Riccarton birdcage after that success, where Charles admitted it was her love of horses that had got her through despite a dim prognosis.
Dee And Gee had also won the Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2500m) at Riccarton in 2018 for Charles and Corbett and they also won that race in 2014 with She's Insatiable, before that tough mare went on to finish third in that year's New Zealand Cup.
