Named “Te Puhoro”, the trophy is one of the most uniquely New Zealand racing trophies ever produced, albeit also one of the heaviest – so don’t expect to see it raised above the winner’s heads come March 8.
While the slot holders for the NZB Kiwi were determined by an auction at Karaka in February, they have all been keeping their powder dry, with no 3-year-olds yet signed up.
That could change in the next week as the first of the realistic form races that could produce a genuine NZB Kiwi-winning chance is the Hawke’s Bay Guineas at Hastings this Saturday.
For horses to be eligible to start in the NZB Kiwi, they need to have been bred in New Zealand or sold at a New Zealand Bloodstock sale and many of the favoured runners on Saturday fit that criteria.
Should an eligible horse win the Guineas, it could be tempting for one of the slot holders to sign it up, therefore giving themselves a headstart on bonuses to be won by NZB Kiwi horses in lead-up races – but only if they have already been taken by a slot holder.
Two of the most obvious Hawke’s Bay Guineas runners who fit that criteria are Savaglee and Poetic Champion. Guineas favourite Captured By Love is not NZB Kiwi eligible.
The other most likely 3-year-old form races for NZB Kiwi contenders include (in chronological order) the Sarten Memorial, NZ 1000 and 2000 Guineas, the Auckland Guineas, Almanzor Trophy and Karaka Million 3-year-old.
Group 1 sprints like the Telegraph, Railway and BCD Sprint may also attract elite 3-year-olds who could go on to be NZB Kiwi contenders, with Crocetti and Quintessa having both contested the BCD Sprint at Te Rapa in February.
While those races are set to be the primary form references in New Zealand for the NZB Kiwi, just which Australian horses will end up chasing spots is impossible to tell.
The $3.5m prize pool will ensure some Aussie owners want in and at least a couple of the slot holders have contracted Australian-based form experts to look for the right type of horse – so it seems certain there will be Australian-trained entries for the first running of the race.
But with Group 1-winning form in Australia worth sometimes tens of millions for the elite colts, a gelding or, less likely, a filly would seem far more likely otherwise to make the trip, especially ones who find themselves just behind the absolute best of their age in the spring or summer.
That potential for Australian raiders adds a fresh dimension of confusion to the market, along with the fact about half the horses who will actually make up the final field for the NZB Kiwi may not have even raced in a black-type race yet.
The path to March 8 looks set to have plenty of twists and turns.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
