Racing: Ritchie success keeps on rolling

James McDonald and Keep The Peace win the Mudgway Stakes. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

Cambridge trainer Shaune Ritchie carried on from a spectacular innings last season when pulling off a fine training feat in the country's first Group One race of the current term.

Ritchie produced Keep The Peace to win yesterday's $200,000 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes at Hastings in the hands of last season's champion apprentice James McDonald.

Keep The Peace was the second of two Group One winners for Ritchie last season when taking the NZ Oaks at Trentham. Military Move had won the Group One New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie.

Those wins, combined with other successes over the 2009-10 season, including the NZ Cup with My Scotsgrey, have made Ritchie a finalist in the Dunstan Trainer Of The Year award, to be presented at the Mercedes Racing Awards next Friday.

It was a truly memorable season for Ritchie, right up there with the highlights he experienced as strapper for the champion Bonecrusher, who was trained by his father, Frank.

And it was hats off again to Ritchie for having Keep The Peace forward enough to master testing ground and land yet another Group One prize.

Keep The Peace was taken to Sydney after her NZ Oaks win and finished unplaced in the AJC Derby on April 10 after which she was spelled.

Ritchie put Keep The Peace into the Mudgway Stakes lineup after just one trial and that was when runner-up at Te Teko on August 12. McDonald was also aboard on that occasion and yesterday ensured the daughter of Keeper was given every possible chance.

McDonald soon had Keep The Peace up trailing the leaders as Mufhasa had the lead from Fritzy Boy with Bulginbaah third wide out.

Fritzy Boy, in the hands of Lisa Allpress, kicked clear on straightening in a bid to repeat his 2008 win in the event, but McDonald soon had Keep The Peace fired up to challenge. Keep The Peace collared Fritzy Boy then withstood a strong finish from the favourite Wall Street to score by a mere nose.

"She quickened pretty well, but I could hear the other horse coming the last bit," said McDonald. "I knew it was close."

The elation on McDonald's face showed he believed Keep The Peace had held on to give him his third Group One, following on from Special Mission in the NZ Bloodstock Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes and Jungle Rocket in last year's NZ Oaks.

Keep The Peace is raced by Paul Bellingham and one of Australia's greatest jockeys, Mick "The Enforcer" Dittman. She was bred by a Matamata couple, Danny and Judy Moss, who have a 2-year-old half-brother by Captain Rio and a yearling half-sister by the same sire. Keep The Peace's dam, Peace Of Mind, is scheduled to again be covered by Keeper.

Wall Street was gallant in defeat, while Fritzy Boy held on well for third, a length and three-quarters away, with two lengths to Bulginbaah.

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Robert Priscott and training partner Clayton Chipperfield kept switching their attention from Hastings to Tauranga with celebrations all round.

At Hastings Elblitzem, ridden by Lisa Allpress, proved too strong in the Wairoa Wanders Premier after failing in the Winter Cup, while soon after at Tauranga Danielle Johnson guided Five Sails to victory in the Harkin Roofing Tauranga 2100.

Making the win of Five Sails even more memorable for Priscott is the fact he races the Yachtie 6-year-old with his daughter, Melanie, who is Chipperfield's partner.

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The trip north to Tauranga for Awapuni trainer Grant Searle was made well worthwhile when his consistent sprinter Just A Whisper took the Ultimate Motor Group Ford 1200.

Just A Whisper, who is owned by Te Aroha couple Ava and Ross Meek, went into the race with two seconds and captured his seventh win from 29 starts.

Ridden by Cameron Lammas, he faced just five opponents and settled back initially before improving to third. Switched into the clear in the run home he scored by a length and a quarter from Prime Hit.

"He's a handy horse," said Searle. "He could go to Wanganui next or I might even bring him back up north."