Racing: McKee team take features

Stephen McKee took centre stage at Pukekohe Park yesterday winning the Counties feature events with mares Culminate and Boundless.

Culminate was all heart showing courage when it mattered and grabbed a half-head victory over Ruud Van Slaats in the $110,000 (Group Two) Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes.

A further long neck away third was Scarlet Vanhara.

Culminate is a proven performer over 1400m - scoring five wins and three minor placings from nine starts.

McKee had Culminate prepared to perfection and the Group Two victory will add considerable value to her broodmare potential.

She will be a regular competitor on the upcoming fillies and mares weight-for-age racing circuit in the North Island.

Completing an impressive assault on the feature race day of the Counties Racing Club was the impressive home stretch sprint produced by Boundless to win the $125,000 (Group Two) DHL Counties Cup.

Boundless was again positioned on the speed and was patiently handled by Leith Innes sprinting to the lead with 200m remaining and lasting to score by a neck over Fiorano.

A further 1 lengths away third was Solid Billing.

Boundless has been disappointing recently but treatment by an equine chiropractor has seen the 5-year-old slowly return to her best form.

In her last start, at Ellerslie, Boundless scored a soft victory in weight-for-age company but jeopardised her winning chances on that occasion when veering badly to the outside of the track.

Yesterday's victory confirmed her pleasing return to winning form and her on the pace racing style will see her hard to beat in upcoming summer staying feature events.

IT'S NOT often that the Cambridge training partnership of Murray and Bjorn Baker produce a winner at the tasty odds of 18-1, but that's exactly what happened in the $60,000 (listed) Murdoch Newell Stakes.

The 1100m 2-year-old event proved a costly disaster for punters when jockey Mark Du Plessis kicked home Lion Tamer. The son of Storming Home scored a long-neck victory over Sirrio with a further neck back to Everlasting.

The Baker stable is usually well supported by the betting public, but the first starter's determined performance caught out many good judges.

The colt carried winning trial form but was friendless in pre-post betting.

Du Plessis was in hot form yesterday scoring a hat-trick of wins with Lion Tamer, Passchendaele and Nadege.

Another jockey to complete an impressive hat-trick of wins was Leith Innes who won aboard Culminate and Boundless and My Krakajak in the last.