King of Castlepoint: From scamp to victor

Minister of Racing Nathan Guy, centre, with 2016 Castlepoint Cup winner Sea King, jockey Kayla Veenendaal and seven-time trainer of cup winners, Kevin Myers. PHOTO/CHRIS KILFORD

WHANGANUI trainer Kevin Myers saddled the winner of the CR Grace Ltd Castlepoint Cup for the fifth successive time on Saturday, and the seventh time in the past eight years the event has been held.

The feature race at the Castlepoint Racing Club's annual beach meeting fell to Sea King, a nine-year-old Shinko King gelding who is being readied for what should be another highly profitable winter jumping season.

The former rogue, who was once banned from racing because of his bad manners, became the first horse to win the Waikato Steeples-Waikato Hurdles double last year and is a past winner of the Grand National Hurdles in Australia.

From 46 TAB starts he has scored 13 wins as well as registering six seconds and eight thirds for $444,804 in stake money. Nine of his wins have come over hurdles and one over steeples.

Myers was presented with the Cup by the Minister of Racing Nathan Guy and said he considered himself "very lucky" to have a horse of Sea King's calibre in his stables.

Previous winners for Myers in the Castlepoint Cup were Stacey Jones (2001), Gabla (2002), Pennnon (2012), The Rose (2013), Our Alchemist (2014) and Duchess of Cambridge (2015). The Rose was ridden to success by Kayla Veenendaal, who was also aboard Sea King in this year's running of the time-honoured event.

Saturday's meeting drew a large, appreciative crowd who enjoyed the summery conditions. Apart from Sea King the star of the well-organised meeting was dual winner Viceroy, who won the Fagan Suzuki Tinui Highweight and the Whakataki Hotel Whakataki Handicap for trainer Jo Rathbone. Viceroy is a six-year-old Deputy Governor gelding and he, too, looks primed for a lucrative winter campaign.

One of the easiest winners of the day was Tawera Nikau, who is trained at Tauherenikau by Aaron Bidlake, the commentator at Castlepoint. He was having his second start of the day when he scooted away with the Darling Drilling and Piling Ltd Mataikona Trial Stakes.

A Myers runner in Onefortheditch showed plenty of grit to win the Woodnet and Bakerrag Lighthouse Handicap and the same could be said for the Trina Riddell-trained Wiggle who took out the John Griffith and Co Ltd Schofield Handicap.