Hastings-trained Wewillrock earned his connections more than A$124,000 from his four starts in Sydney.
Hastings-trained Wewillrock is coming home after a successful Sydney campaign and will now be aimed at the Gr.2 $150,000 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on August 26.
The El Roca five-year-old turned in another gallant performance for fifth in last Saturday’s Gr.2 A$300,000 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill to go with a win, a second and a third from three previous starts in Sydney.
The horse’s Hastings trainer, Guy Lowry, was on course to witness last Saturday’s run and said this week it was a brave performance considering what the horse had done in the running.
“He wanted to pull too hard early and then was caught three wide and had to do plenty of work,” Lowry said.
“He was still going strong through the line, though, which was great.
“We took him over there hoping to win some money and he won over $120,000 Australian so we are happy.”
Lowry took Wewillrock and stablemate Herself across the Tasman at the end of May and placed them in the Randwick stable of John O’Shea.
Herself didn’t settle into the new environment that well and finished fifth and sixth in two starts before returning to New Zealand at the beginning of last week. She is now being aimed at the New Zealand Cup meeting at Riccarton in November.
Wewillrock made his Australian debut in a Benchmark78 race over 1200m at Rosehill on May 20 when he finished second, beaten only a neck.
He then lined up in the listed A$160,000 June Stakes (1100m) at Randwick on June 10 and finished a game third, less than half a length from the winner.
Wewillrock then showed Australian racegoers a glimpse of his true ability when winning a Benchmark88 race over 1200m at Randwick on July 8 before last Saturday’s Rosehill fifth placing.
In all the horse accumulated A$124,750 for his owners, Hawke’s Bay brothers Mark and Paul Apatu and Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick.
Lowry said he would get Wewillrock back home to Hastings before confirming his spring assignments, but said the Foxbridge Plate looks an obvious target.
“He’s probably best with the sting out of the track and it should be okay at Te Rapa,” Lowry said.
“He might have had enough racing by then but, if he was to go really well, we might look at the Tarzino Trophy on the first day of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival.”
Tarzino Trophy sure to attract a top field
Although two of last season’s star gallopers are unlikely to be in the final field, this year’s Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings will again attract the cream of the country’s gallopers.
The $400,000 weight-for-age event will be the feature race on the first day of the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, on September 9.
Imperatriz and Prowess were two of New Zealand’s best performers last season, domestically and in Australia. Prowess is among the nominees for the Tarzino but both horses are expected to head straight to Melbourne for their spring campaigns.
Prowess is likely to kick off in the A$750,000 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on September 2 while Imperatriz is expected to trial at Taupo in two weeks and then also cross the Tasman.
Although those two glamour mares are unlikely to be in the final Tarzino lineup, there is sure to be plenty of interest in the outcome of the first Gr.1 race of the new season.
New Zealand Derby and Herbie Dyke Stakes winner Sharp ‘N’ Smart is expected to contest the Tarzino before heading back to Australia while Pennyweka, winner of both the New Zealand and Australian Oaks last season, is also expected to kick off a fresh campaign in the Tarzino.
Last year’s Tarzino Trophy winner, Dark Destroyer, could be back again along with New Zealand 1000 and Australian Guineas winner Legarto, New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Pier and La Crique, winner of last year’s Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m).
Callsign Mav, winner of the Tarzino Trophy two years ago, is one of four Hastings-trained horses nominated for this year’s race.
The seven-year-old Atlante gelding has been back with Hastings trainer John Bary since the start of winter, after campaigning in Australia for 18 months. He took out the Gr.1 Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield in September.
The other Hastings-trained nominees are the Bary-trained pair of Spring Tide and Best Seller and Wewillrock from Guy Lowry’s stable.
The full list of nominations for the Tarzino Trophy:
Aromatic
Belardo Boy
Belclare
Best Seller
Brando
Callsign Mav
Campionessa
Darci La Bella
Dark Destroyer
Dragon Leap
Durham Lad
El Vencedor
Electric Time
Gospodin
He’s A Doozy
Jodelin Gal
La Crique
Legarto
Lickety Split
Mali Ston
Malt Time
Manolo
Mascarpone
Maven Belle
Mazzolino
Mustang Valley
Not Guilty
Not Ideal
Old Town Road
On The Bubbles
Pennyweka
Pier
Polly Grey
Prowess
Puntura
Romancing The Moon
Sacred Satono
Sharp ‘N’ Smart
Skew Wiff
Spring Tide
Times Ticking
Wanderin Apache
Wewillrock
White Noise
$10,000 bonus for Punter of the Year
First prize in this year’s New Zealand Punter of the Year competition, staged at Hastings on October 14, will now include a $10,000 Bonus Bet to be used on the A$20 million The Everest run at Randwick, Sydney, on the same day.
The Entain New Zealand Punter of the Year competition will be one of the feature events on the third and final day of the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Racing Carnival and is part of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s The Grand Tour Racing Festival for 2023-24.
The Grand Tour, in its second year, focuses on New Zealand’s top 20 premier racing events across Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch, and aims to attract a younger and more mainstream audience through entertainment and innovation.
TAB, the iconic New Zealand betting brand now operated by Entain Australia and New Zealand, is the major partner of The Grand Tour Racing Festival.
“We’re passionate about racing as well as the opportunities these major New Zealand events provide to introduce the sport to a new audience,” New Zealand’s Entain managing director Cameron Rodger says.
As part of its role as the major partner, TAB will be using its many channels to drive interest and engagement in the festival.
“We have created The Grand Tour Hub on tab.co.nz, where we will offer unique betting options, vibrant content and boosted odds to tie in with these key race days,” Rodger says.
“Our broadcasting operation also allows us to showcase The Grand Tour meetings through Trackside, highlighting the glitz and glamour on offer on-course.”
“The cream often rises to the top at these meetings too, including our most astute customers, which is why we’re boosting the Hawke’s Bay New Zealand Punter of the Year competition as the named sponsor.”
The $10,000 Bonus Bet for the winning team or punter to be bet on The Everest is being made courtesy of Entain and there is expected to be huge Kiwi interest in the race with I Wish I Win carrying the hopes of both Trackside Media and New Zealand.
The first event of season two of The Grand Tour Racing Festival kicks off on the first day of the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, on September 9.
This day features the running of the Gr.1 $400,000 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) and will be known as Daffodil Raceday, with all gate takings and other donations on course going to the Hawke’s Bay Cancer Society.
“With these race days having an emphasis on excellence, focusing on these meetings provides the opportunity to market and promote our sport to a wider audience and to lift the profile of thoroughbred racing in New Zealand,” Rodger said.
The Grand Tour Racing Festival runs until April and futures markets for a number of the feature events are now available in the futures section of tab.co.nz.
HB interest in both Grand Nationals
There will be plenty of Hawke’s Bay interest in the two feature jumping races at today’s Canterbury meeting in Christchurch, the $100,000 Grand National Hurdle and the $100,000 Grand National Steeplechase.
After initially saying he was unlikely to head to the Grand National meeting, Hastings-based Paul Nelson, who trains in partnership with Corrina McDougal, has sent Suliman south for the Grand National Hurdle (4200m).
The now-10-year-old gelding has not raced since winning the Wellington Hurdle (3400m) at Trentham on July 15, but has been kept up to the mark in trackwork and finished a close third in a 2200m jumpout at the Hastings track on Monday.
Suliman is raced by the I See Red Syndicate, which is a 60-strong group of racing enthusiasts, many of whom are based in Hawke’s Bay, and have enjoyed a huge amount of success racing horses in the Nelson stable colours.
Four Hawke’s Bay men — Tony Lyndon, Peter Johnstone, Greg Horton and Peter Unverricht — also share in the ownership of Carnaby, who will contest the Grand National Steeplechase.
The 11-year-old Danroad gelding is one of a large team of horses Whanganui trainer Kevin Myers is campaigning at this year’s Grand National meeting and finished fourth there in last Saturday’s Koral Steeplechase (4250m).
Pike aiming Impendabelle at Gold Trail
Cambridge trainer Tony Pike is going through a rebuilding phase and is excited about the prospects of several youngsters in his barn.
As a result, he is likely to have limited representation during the Colliers Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival.
“We have sold a lot of horses in the last 12 months and have got a really nice young team coming through now,” Pike said.
One filly Pike has pencilled in for Hawke’s Bay is Impendabelle, who won last season’s Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) at Trentham.
“She trialled super at Te Rapa last week and will have another quiet trial at Taupo and then go straight to the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings on September 9,” he said.
“From an older-horse point of view, Not Guilty has come back a lot stronger and should be competitive in a lot of the nicer sprints up to Gr.2 and Gr.3 level.
“She will probably kick off at Te Rapa on September 17 and then go to Hastings for the Gr.3 Red Badge Sprint (1400m) on the last day of the carnival.”
The Hawke’s Bay Naturists Club welcomes all, and nudity is actually optional.