Good Weekend For Karaka Graduates

Karaka graduate Five To Midnight broke through for his first stakes win in Saturday’s Listed Hawke’s Bay Gold Cup at Hastings.

The Lisa Latta-trained runner had previously run second in the Listed New Zealand St Leger (2500m), second in the G3 Manawatu Classic (2000m), third in the Listed Feilding Gold Cup (2100m), third in the G3 Manawatu Cup (2300m), third in the G3 City of Auckland Cup (2400m), fourth in the G2 Avondale Cup (2400m), fifth in the G1 Auckland Cup (3200m) and second in the G2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2000m).

On Saturday he claimed a well-deserved win when he ran down the leaders and raced away to win by two lengths.

“I’m so happy with that,” said his Sydney owner Kevin Pratt, who races Five To Midnight under his Kamada Racing banner.

“We thought he could win a good race this season, but he’s been a bit unlucky at times. This was it for him for this season, and it’s great to see him win it.”

Five To Midnight was bred by The Oaks Stud, who offered him at the 2014 Karaka Select Sale. Trainer Lisa Latta bought him for $165,000.

Now the winner of five of his 22 starts, Five To Midnight has earned prize-money of $186,960.

Runner-up Maygrove (Authorized) is also a Karaka graduate, bought for $110,000 at the 2012 Select Sale. He has won seven races and more than $374,000 in stakes.

• THE famous Mufhasa colours were again to the fore at Hastings on Saturday where Bostonian, a relative of the two-time New Zealand Horse of the Year, continued the perfect start to his career.

Among Mufhasa’s ten G1 victories were Makfi Challenge Stakes and Windsor Park Plate successes on the Hawke’s Bay course, which yesterday was the stage for Bostonian (Jimmy Choux x Keep Cheval by Keeper ) to show he had inherited a good measure of the family ability.

Out of a half-sister to Mufhasa, the Tony Pike-trained youngster was a debut winner at Avondale last month and was just as impressive when claiming the Fasttrack Insurance Juvenile.

“He’s a very laid-back horse with a great temperament for a two-year-old,” said Pike, who prepares Bostonian for David Archer. “He’s only going to improve again from here. He’s going to make a nice Guineas horse in the spring.”

The recent history of the Fasttrack Insurance 2YO at Hastings means that the winner will always face lofty expectations.

The last two winners have been Xtravagant and Bonneval, who both went on to dual Group One success in their three-year-old year.

• Talented Darci Brahma mare Bonniegirl greatly enhanced her value as a broodmare with a first stakes win in Saturday’s Listed NZB Finance Sprint at Hastings.

Bonniegirl was third in last year’s NZB Finance Sprint and fourth in the G3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes.

A half-sister to G3 winner So Wotif (Iffraaj), four of Bonniegirl’s wins had come in a fresh-up stateand trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman used that trait to great effect when they placed her in Saturday’s race for the first start of a new campaign.

Bonniegirl stretched out impressively in the last 200m to hold out a fast-finishing Underthemoonlight (El Hermano) to win by a short neck.

Bought by Baker for $85,000 at the 2013 Karaka Select Sale, Bonniegirl has now had 16 starts for six wins, earning $111,285 for her owner, the estate of the late Ian McCarrison.