Racing: Class pair fight out Sprint

Jason Waddell knew how much horse-power he would have before the $200,000 Group One Waikato Draught Sprint at Te Rapa - and his judgment in a close finish was faultless.

Waddell teamed with sit-sprint entire Tavistock to outsprint the high class mare Wealth Princess and win by a neck in the 1400m weight-for-age feature yesterday.

Te Rapa can be a difficult track to make ground on the leaders - particularly in top weight-for-age sprints - when a former horse of the year like Mufhasa has kicked clear.

Waddell sat back and virtually tracked Leith Innes and Wealth Princess throughout, coming off the back of this run wide out in the home stretch to gain a well-deserved victory.

A further 1 lengths away third was Mufhasa who showed a pleasing return to form after some indifferent performances.

It took a fairly good racehorse to deny Tavistock victory in his last start - the powerfully built Wall Street - and the 4-year-old showed an impressive turn of foot when it mattered to outsprint Wealth Princess.

VELOCE BELLA has often suffered from running into an endless list of superstars on New Zealand racetracks.

The 6-year-old daughter of Volksraad looked a topline act but had the misfortune to be foaled in the same as New Zealand's queen of thoroughbred racing, Princess Coup.

Princess Coup dominated the 3-year-old fillies then stepped up to weight-for-age company in the following years to win back-to-back Kelt Capital Stakes in Hastings.

In the "also ran" column in a number of these events was the back-running, solid-finishing Veloce Bella. No one could begrudge Veloce Bella her Group One winning moment of glory yesterday when she outsprinted the highly-regarded Tell A Tale in the home stretch to score a narrow neck win in the $200,000 Darci Brahma International Stakes.

A further 1 lengths away third was Passchendaele - the Group One placing an ideal trial for the upcoming Auckland Cup at Ellerslie.

Te Rapa has proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Mark Brosnan-trained Veloce Bella, four wins and four minor placings from 11 starts.

SIR PATRICK and Lady Hogan have in recent years thrown their support behind the New Zealand racing industry.

The Hogans' flagship Cambridge Stud sells their entire marquee draft of yearlings at New Zealand Bloodstock's premier sale at Karaka.

They have also leapt into thoroughbred ownership, racing a number of their well-bred fillies with leading New Zealand trainers.

Sir Patrick has also had plenty of recent success racing a number of well-bred 2-year-olds with a group of friends headlined by Fully Fledged and The Heckler.

Katie Lee has proved to be an outstanding buy for the Hogans as a racing and breeding prospect adding the Group Two $100,000 Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies Classic to her record this season.

The daughter of Pins is the type every owner wants, competitive and unflinching when it comes to eye-balling a rival for a fight, backed by a record of seven wins and seven minor placings from 15 starts.

Katie Lee may have hit the front a little sooner than expected in the 2000m feature for 3-year-old fillies but catch rider Mark Du Plessis knew he had the necessary class and stamina required when it really mattered.

Katie Lee scored by a short neck over November Rain with a further 1 lengths back to C'mon Cuba (third).

The strength of New Zealand thoroughbred racing in recent years has been the outstanding quality of fillies that compete each season and Katie Lee is the latest of a long list of stars.