Trainer Laurie Laxon was thinking big as he led in his first 2017 winner Aotearoa on Friday night.
The diminutive filly (407 kilos only) raced as Family Secret in relatively good company in New Zealand, which she is incidentally now named after (Aotearoa is New Zealand in Maori), picking up two placings from three runs, including a third place in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie last April.
That solid reference run along with Aotearoa’s gutsy first-up Kranji win after overcoming a wide trip throughout the $65,000 Initiation race over 1200m were certainly uppermost in Laxon’s mind when he boldly stated the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) as a long-term objective for the filly he now trains and owns as well.
“She’s not very big, but she’s a lovely filly. She reminds me a lot of Kiwi Karma,” said the nine-time Singapore champion trainer in allusion to the gallant chestnut mare he first prepared as a two-year-old.
“She raced three times back home and showed some ability. She ran third in the Champagne Stakes.
“I bought her myself and I think she could be a Guineas horse. She will get in at a filly’s weight.
“Aotearoa means the Land Of The Long White Cloud in Maori and it’s the poetic name of New Zealand.”
Winning jockey Barend Vorster agreed with Laxon that the mile would be the way to go with the filly.
“She will definitely get the mile. She’s a lovely filly and it was probably a blessing she was drawn out tonight,” said the South African hoop.
“If she was drawn in, she could have been stuck behind some slow horses on the fence. She was wide but she was always travelling well.
“What I like about her is even though there isn’t much of her, she covers the ground so well. Coming to the home turn, I was confident she would finish off very well.”
From barrier 12, Aotearoa was ridden out to take up a forward spot for Vorster, but three wide facing the breeze, outside race-leader Super Genius (Syafiq Hazman) and Typhon (Wong Chin Chuen).
It was still anyone’s race as the field – barring Super Red (Oscar Chavez) who was stone motherless last - swung for home with around five lengths top to bottom, but Aotearoa in the familiar Silver Fern colours showed the most punch inside the last 300m to score by one length from Sacred Army (Danny Beasley) with Secret Squirrel (Troy See) third another three parts of a length away.
The winning time was 1min 12.62secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack. Aotearoa returned a win dividend of $24 for a $5 outlay.
