Dell finally gets his chance on Hi Yo Sass Bomb
Dennis Ryan - Raceform • October 10th, 2025 5:30 PM
Almost a year after originally intended, Chris Dell finally got his chance on classy Taranaki racemare Hi Yo Sass Bomb at Hawera last Saturday and he made the most of the opportunity for a comprehensive win in the Gr. 3 Grangewilliam Stud Breeders’ Stakes.
After being hit by yet another setback in his injury-punctuated career, the Palmerston North jockey had to forego the Livamol Classic mount on the Kim Reid-trained mare last October and was left to rue what might have been when she finished second in the Group One feature.
“I was all set to take the ride on her for the first time and was really looking forward to it knowing how good she was, but on the Tuesday before the race I was diagnosed with a fractured vertebra in my lower neck,” Dell told RaceForm in a recap of his past 12 months.
“I didn’t realise it at the time, but it happened the week before in a simple little incident behind the barriers at the Foxton trials. I didn’t think much of it and rode that weekend – I even had a win on the Saturday – but when it wasn’t feeling any better by Monday I went and had it x-rayed.
“They identified a lateral fracture of the C6 vertebra and I had no option but to ring Kim and tell her I couldn’t ride her mare in the Livamol.
“As it turned out she ran second (beaten 3.5 lengths by Snazzytavi) after Courtney (Barnes) rode her well. Who can say whether I would have done any better on her?”
Hi Yo Sass Bomb had four more starts during that campaign with her best result third place in the Gr. 2 Cal Isuzu Stakes in December, but even though he was back in action within two months of the injury, it remained a waiting game for Dell to reconnect with her.
Three-kilogram claimer Elle Sole rode Hi Yo Sass Bomb in her unplaced resuming run at Otaki in early September and Dell finally got his chance when Reid invited him back for an exhibition gallop at Waverley six days out from the Hawera fillies and mares’ feature.
“She gave me a really nice feel and I went to Hawera thinking she was a very good chance. We drew in and ended up down near the inside to begin with, but the plan had always been to get out to the strip where they were winning, and she was very strong when it counted.”
Dell had kicked off the day with a win for another female Taranaki trainer, Stratford-based Rosie Buchanan, riding Crafty Colin when he finally broke through in his 33rd start.
“I had been placed on him five or six times and when I got up alongside Kate (Hercock) on the turn, I said ‘If he’s ever going to win a race, today’s the day!’ Thankfully he kept going and I was so happy for everyone I nearly saluted on the line, but I managed to contain myself.”
Dell’s Hawera double took his career tally to 243 wins in New Zealand along with a handful in Australia and another couple in the Melanesian outpost of New Caledonia. His initial wins in the late 2000s were as an amateur and he even tried his hand over jumps before getting his weight under control and settling on an apprenticeship with his father, low-key Pukekohe trainer Kevin Dell.
In the third year of his apprenticeship he rode 37 winners, but in late 2014 he suffered his first major injury in a trial fall at Ruakaka, putting him in Auckland Hospital and in a coma for 10 days. Setting a standard that has become repetitive over the years, Dell’s determination eventually had him back riding winners, however diminished returns forced a rethink and the decision to head to the lower North Island.
“I felt I could do a lot better, so five years ago I made the move to Palmerston North, figuring a change would be good for me and knowing that I would be the only male jockey in the CD able to ride at 54 kilos,” Dell explained.
“I’ve never looked back, I bought my own house which is just five minutes from the (Awapuni) track, and I’ve had excellent support from trainers based here like Mark Oulaghan, Lisa Latta and Peter Didham.”
After making the premiership top 20 with a career-high 38 winners in the 2021-22 season, Dell suffered another major injury, a long recovery from a broken leg, and scant opportunities as he set about re-establishing himself. The 2022-23 season produced just five wins at a strike-rate of 25.8, but his resilient attitude has been well rewarded since with tallies of 39 and 27 in the past two seasons and currently nine wins at a personal best strike-rate of 6.56.
“It means a lot to me that strike rate, which is something I’m intent on maintaining with quality rides and results. Winning a black-type race so early in the season is also a personal boost, so here’s hoping I can keep up the momentum.”
Whether that will include a shot at every jockey’s prime target – a Group One race – in next week’s Livamol Classic remains up in the air. When RaceForm contacted Hi Yoss Sass Bomb’s trainer and part-owner Kim Reid on Tuesday, a decision on the Ellerslie race was still pending.
“I’m in two minds whether to run but probably leaning the other way,” Reid said. “She pulled my arms out on Monday morning and I’m very happy with how she came through the weekend, but the Livamol comes around probably a week too soon.
“We were on the back foot heading into the Breeders’ Stakes and even though she won well, I just tend to think it would be too quick a turnaround to get to Ellerslie.
“After what she’s done to date I’m convinced she’s up to it, but there are various other races to choose from and if it looked like the right thing to do I would be happy to wait.”
