Racing: The Catalyst for a Kiwi underdog

Jockey Troy Harris celebrates riding Catalyst to victory in the 2000 Guineas rivals at Riccarton. Photo / Race Images South

The latest superstar of New Zealand racing is not for sale and he is not for transfer either.

Which means punters may have a real Kiwi underdog taking on the rich Aussies fairytale to look forward to in the autumn.

Catalyst didn't surprise anybody with the demolition job of his 2000 Guineas rivals at Riccarton on Saturday, we already knew he was high class he just needed 1m 36s to remind us.

The only hold your breath moment for punters was when he got three back on the inside early but he demonstrated he has the attitude to match his motor by shouldering an opponent out of the way at the top of the straight before launching to group one glory.

For just 460kg of horse standing only 15.2 hands, he has an incredibly long stride and a pronounced extension of his front legs, beautifully exaggerated when he changed lead legs at the 100m mark, showing off at full speed.

He was so dazzling it put the performance of runner-up Harlech in the shade, where it doesn't deserve to be, because he was immense coming from well back to provide a siring quinella for Darci Brahma.

Catalyst now heads to the paddock with an Australian autumn campaign the target and it will hearten local racing fans that campaign will be orchestrated out of Te Awamutu.

Former top jumps jockey Clayton Chipperfield hasn't put a foot wrong in preparing Catalyst and Rick Williams, who manages The Oaks stud and the racing operations of Dick Karreman, sees no reason to break up the perfect partnership.

So a move to an Australian trainer, Chris Waller being the most obvious, isn't on the cards. Chipperfield is Catalyst's trainer now and hopefully forever.

"We don't think he needs to be based over there to race in the best races over there and Clayton has done a superb job," says Williams.

"Most decisions like that Dick leaves to me and I want the horse to stay with Clayton and attack Australia from here.

"If he was a flighty horse and a difficult traveller things might be different but he is very relaxed so that is not an issue.

"And the way travel if these days for horses, most of them handle it very easily.

"So he can campaign in Sydney and work in with the other Kiwi trainers heading over there."

Williams has confirmed Catalyst is not sale, and when they turned down a $2.5 million offer, the phone stopped ringing.

"Dick wants to enjoy the horse."

The Catalyst team will find a couple of Australian targets, races like the Australian Guineas in Melbourne or the Rosehill Guineas in Sydney being logical, and then work backwards from there to map out his late summer.

That could potentially mean a dream clash with a Melody Belle or Te Akau Shark in the BDC Sprint at Te Rapa in February.

With the Australian three-year-old crop looking incredibly strong, albeit it most of them best at 1200m-1400m, Catalyst will need to be everything his fans hope he is to snare a group one there.

But the beauty is the Aussie star are colts and Catalyst is a gelding so his sole focus in coming years will be racing rather than stud, a blessing for those who actually like their racing heroes to, well, race.

"Long-term, and I know it is very long term, a race like the Golden Eagle for A$7.5 million would be tempting," smiles Williams.