Transtasman triumphs on Te Rapa’s Legends Day
Richard Edmunds - Raceform • February 14th, 2025 9:59 AM
For decades Kiwi horses have routinely cross the Tasman in search of Australian spoils, but recent weeks have shown that New Zealand racing’s growing prize-money is creating traffic in the opposite direction.
Karaka Millions night at Ellerslie produced an early glimpse of that reverse trend when Konasana capturing the Gr. 2 Westbury Classic to give champion expat trainer Chris Waller his first New Zealand winner in the 20-plus years he has been based in Sydney. Konasana has remained in New Zealand with possible targets next week’s Gr. 1 Ōtaki-Māori WFA Classic and the Gr. 1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes on Champions Day.
The Australian invasion went to a new level during the keenly anticipated Legends Day meeting at Te Rapa last Saturday, where Here To Shock and Bosustow delivered an all-Australian quinella in the Gr. 1 BCD Group Sprint.
It was the first New Zealand Group One prize to be claimed by an Australian raider since 2012, when Atomic Force won the Railway Stakes at Ellerslie. That horse was ridden by Nash Rawiller, who returned 13 years later for a repeat result aboard Here To Shock in the BCD Group Sprint.
“I’m rapt to come back and win another Group One in New Zealand,” the champion jockey said. “I’ve had success whenever I’ve come here in the past.
“I’ve just had a month off with a shoulder injury. I thought he was the perfect horse to come over and kick off on. It puts a smile on your face when they don’t let you down.”
Here To Shock was bred in New Zealand by the Sunlight Trust and is a half-brother to the nine-race winner Turn The Ace. Cambridge Stud offered him in its Book 1 draft at Karaka 2019, where Slade Bloodstock bought him for $70,000. The gelding has turned that into more than $2.9 million from a career spanning 36 starts and 13 wins.
Here To Shock has hit career-best form this season at the age of seven, winning four of his six starts including the Gr. 3 Cameron Handicap at Newcastle, the A$1.5 million Alan Brown Stakes at Rosehill, the inaugural A$1 million Supernova at Pakenham, and Saturday’s breakthrough victory at Group One level.
“It’s so special to come here and win this race,” said Will Hayes, who trains Here To Shock in partnership with his brothers Ben and JD. “It’s good to see him replicate the form from his Supernova win. He’s incredibly consistent.
“We can’t thank New Zealand racing enough. With the prize-money on offer, it was a no-brainer to come here.”
Runner-up Bosustow, also ridden by an Australian jockey in Josh Parr, went into the race as the last-start winner of the A$3 million Magic Millions 3YO Guineas on the Gold Coast. He is trained by Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald, who also saddled proven Group One performer Numerian for a midfield finish behind runaway winner El Vencedor in Saturday’s Gr. 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes.
El Vencedor – like Here To Shock a son of Rich Hill Stud’s Melbourne Cup-winning stallion Shocking – was ridden by Rory Hutchings, who has spent most of the last decade in Australia but is making every post a winner during a summer stint back home.
An additional Australian influence at Te Rapa on Saturday came from prominent owner Ozzie Kheir, who celebrated back-to-back wins in the Gr. 2 David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic. Last year he bought a majority share in Molly Bloom just a few days before her Fillies’ Classic success, and now he has repeated that trick with Leica Lucy.
The super-talented daughter of Derryn overcame traffic trouble to live up to her $1.30 favouritism. She has now had five starts for four wins and a placing, and her last three appearances have produced impressive victories in the Gr. 3 Eulogy Stakes, Gr. 3 Desert Gold Stakes and Fillies’ Classic. Trainer Robbie Patterson is pointing her towards next month’s Gr. 2 Lowland Stakes and Gr. 1 New Zealand Oaks, after which she will relocate to Waller’s Sydney stable.
Leica Lucy is still part-owned by her breeders, Taranaki couple Peter and Heather Crofskey, who previously spent time in the three-year-old spotlight with their 2013 Gr. 1 New Zealand Derby winner Habibi. The bred their latest star from the minor winner Dynamite Lucy, a daughter of English Derby winner Sir Percy, but unfortunately lost her to laminitis when she was carrying a sibling to Leica Lucy.
Leica Lucy towers over next month’s New Zealand Oaks as the $2.20 favourite, with the Trentham classic losing several of its other leading contenders in recent weeks. Second favourite Hinekaha is likely to target the New Zealand Derby instead, while Real Class and Bella Montagna, who ran the quinella in last month’s Gr. 2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes at Ellerslie, have both been sold to Australia.
Legends Day at Te Rapa was a season highlight in its own right, but it also took place exactly a month out from the richest raceday in New Zealand history.
A total of $8.22 million will be up for grabs during the inaugural Champions Day at Ellerslie on March 8, headed by the inaugural $3.5 million NZB Kiwi along with the $1.25 million Gr. 1 New Zealand Derby, $1 million Gr. 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes, $600,000 Gr. 1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, $550,000 Gr. 1 Sistema Stakes, $600,000 Gr. 2 Auckland Cup, $250,000 Gr. 3 Sunline Vase and $250,000 Gr. 3 King’s Plate.
Saturday’s results had an impact on TAB’s Champions Day markets, most notably Waikato Guineas winner Tuxedo and Herbie Dyke hero El Vencedor. Tuxedo was previously in double digits for the Derby but now shares $5 second favouritism with Hinekaha, while Willydoit heads the market at $2.
Meanwhile, El Vencedor’s Te Rapa tour de force has elevated him to the top of the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes market. After a topsy-turvy week that saw long-time favourite Snazzytavi withdrawn due to a season-ending virus, El Vencedor is now the $2.80 equal favourite to defend his New Zealand Stakes crown.
He shares favouritism with Orchestral, who is likely to warm up for the 2000-metre feature with a tilt at the Gr. 1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic at Ellerslie on Saturday week. La Crique, runner-up in the Herbie Dyke in her first start since a close second in the Zabeel Classic on Boxing Day, stands alone on the second line of Bonecrusher Stakes betting at $6.
Picture at the Top of the Page: Doing his bit to reverse traditional transtasman racehorse traffic, Victorian raider Here To Shock (Nash Rawiller) has the finish to himself in the BCD Group Sprint. Photo: Supplied
