By Jess de Lautour
Te Akau unleashed a serious Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2000m) chance in Ascend The Throne at Te Rapa on Wednesday, the gelding displaying all of his staying prowess in claiming the Gr.2 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas (2000m).
After commencing his career with two strong performances over the shorter trips, Ascend The Throne looked all too comfortable in breaking maidens over 2000m last start, the performance warranting $6.90 TAB second-favouritism behind Group One-performer Zabmanzor for the Guineas.
Jockey Opie Bosson took full advantage of the gelding’s ace draw, jumping away efficiently before allowing the hoard of outside runners to cross nearing the first turn. Renegade Rebel worked to take the eventual lead while Bosson bided his time three-back the fence, and as the pacemaker hung out on the turn, the seas opened for Ascend The Throne at the top of the straight.
As Zabmanzor began to wind-up down the outer, the Savabeel gelding kept finding and staved off a dashing late challenge by Mosinvader to score by a narrow margin, while Te Akau stablemate What You Wish For stormed into third.