Sinbin back on top at favourite venue
Kevin Robertson • June 28th, 2025 5:08 PM • 3 min read
Track specialist Sinbin returned to her favourite Trentham track to claim her biggest victory to date, when she stormed home against the outside fence to win the Bill Tito Book Repair Specialist North Island Challenge Stakes (1200m).
The Robbie Patterson-prepared daughter of Derryn had won two of her three career victories at Trentham and made it three wins and two runner-up finishes from just nine starts there in the hands of Mereana Hudson.
Hudson was content to settle Sinbin at the rear of the six-horse field but crucially she got her away from the inside running rail after 300m and enjoying open spaces before angling across to the outside rail and better going rounding the home bend.
With the field in a line across the track at the 400m, Sinbin quickly dashed to the front and put the result beyond doubt as she won easily by more than three lengths from Old Town Road who chased her hard all the way home.
Patterson has his eyes set on a special, home track prize for his mare as he targets the Listed Sinclair Electrical & Refrigeration Opunake Cup (1400m) at New Plymouth on 19 July.
“She (Sinbin) is thriving on the wet tracks but more importantly we now know she has to have her races spaced,” Patterson said.
“She is quite a nervous type but enjoys Trentham although she doesn’t have to have a bottomless track to perform on.
“She has matured nicely and while she is in this sort of form we might as well have a shot at the Opunake Cup as she will get in with a light weight on her home patch. I will also have Our Jumala in that one so we will have two good chances.”
Raced by Sandie Cookson and Angeline Porter, Sinbin is the only foal out of Handsome Ransom mare Monie O’Ceirin and is closely related to the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) winner Rememba Howe who also finished fourth in the 2010 Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).
The day’s other major flat race was captured by Bradman who took out the MJH Engineering Limited Whyte Handicap (1600m) in similar fashion to Sinbin as he found the coveted strip of ground against the outside running rail and held out the challenges of Chantilly Lace and Chase in a driving finish.
Prepared by Roydon Bergerson at Awapuni, the consistent seven-year-old son of Pins was always handy to the pace before rider Jim Chung angled him wider on the track at the 700m to claim the fast lane in the home straight.
Left in front at the 400m Bradman fought hard as he fended off all challenges to win by nearly two lengths at the winning post.
Bergerson paid tribute to a stable favourite who is always thereabouts in his racing and who tries his heart out.
“He is such a tough little bugger and he always gives his best,” Bergerson said.
“I do kick myself a little that I haven’t placed him quite right as he won a Listed race early on and has tended to carry the grandstand in a lot of his starts since.
“He ran third in the Winter Cup (Gr.3, 1600m) down at Riccarton last year so that’s where we are going to take him again.
“I don’t think he will have a run before then, but I may give him a trial just to keep his fitness up.”
The Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations Winter Cup (1600m) is the feature flat event at Riccarton on 2 August.
Bradman is out of the champion broodmare mare Baggy Green and is the younger brother of Gr.1 Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) winner No Compromise and a half-brother to four-time Australian Group One winner Tofane.
He has now won nine of his 59 starts and along with 23 placings has amassed more than $340,000 in prizemoney for his large group of owners.
