Kiwi Stayers Show Their Mettle

Kiwi-bred stayers by Rip Van Winkle and Raise The Flag were too tough for their rivals in 3200m feature races at Riccarton and Sandown on Saturday.

At Riccarton the Galileo stallion Rip Van Winkle sired his 24th stakes winner when the front-running 5YO gelding Bizzwinkle outstayed his rivals in the G3 New Zealand Cup.

The lightly raced Bizzwinkle (Rip Van WInkle x Bizz by Volksraad) has now won five of his 19 career starts and over $234,000 in prizemoney. He was a $36,000 purchase from the Henley Park draft at the 2015 NZB Select Yearling Sale at Karaka and was later passed at the NZB Ready to Run Sale on a $60,000 reserve.

At Sandown Yogi, a $1000 purchase from the NZB South Island Sale, won the Listed Sandown Cup.

The Darren Weir-trained Yogi has now had 28 starts for seven wins, eight placings and $471,238 prizemoney, a massive return on his cheap sale price.

Yogi[ was bred by Hazel and David Voice and is by White Robe Lodge stallion Raise The Flag out of the Grand Lodge mare Malozza.

He had five starts in New Zealand before crossing the Tasman to race for a big syndicate headed by Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock.

Westbury Stud's Swiss Ace sired his tenth stakes winner when promising 2YOI filly Miss Federer made it two wins from three career starts with her victory in the Listed Welcome Stakes at Riccarton.

Miss Federer has now earned $44,435 in prize-money, four times her bargain purchase price of $10,000 at Book 2 of the 2018 NZB Karaka Year Sale.

Miss Federer (Swiss Ace x Halobelle by My Halo) headed an all-Karaka trifecta when she beat Challa (Dissident) and Diva Express (Shamexpress). Challa cost $100,000 in Book 1 while Diva Express was secured for just $4500 in Book 3.

Zabeel’s Karaka graduate Ocean Emperor successfully defended his title with back-to-back wins in the G2 Tauranga Stakes on Saturday.

Last year’s Tauranga Stakes was the first stakes win for the $450,000 purchase from the 2013 NZB Karaka Premier Sale, beating the noted G1 pair Kawi and Miss Wilson.

On Saturday the 7YO Ocean Emperor (Zabeel x Tootsie by Pins) lifted his tally of black type victories to three.

He has now had 27 starts for nine wins, five placings and $269,125 prizemoney. As well as the last two editions of the Tauranga Stakes, he has also won the G2 Japan-NZ International Trophy (1600m) for trainer and part-owner Gary Hennessy.

Ocean Emperor has now had 27 starts for nine wins, five placings and $269,125 in prize-money.

Hennessy is now heading to the G1 Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham on December 8 with Ocean Emperor.

Brisbane trainer Liam Birchley is eyeing another win in the Karaka Million at Ellerslie after Neptune’s Spear produced a stylish all-the-way win over 1050m at Doomben.

Birchley plans to give the son of Super Easy one more start before aiming the colt at the Karaka Million in late January, a race he has won twice with Sister Havana (General Nediym) in 2010 and Hardline (Showcasing) in 2015.

Neptune’s Spear was purchased by Birchley for $140,000 out of Hallmark Stud’s draft at the 2018 NZB Karaka Book 1.

His sire Super Easy is a half-brother to G1 winner Terravista and G2 winner Ball Of Muscle. He started his career in New Zealand before going on to become one of Singapore’s best sprinters under the care of Michael Freedman.