Gingernuts dunks best of Aussies
GINGERNUTS has made an immediate impression in Australia by becoming the fourth New Zealand-trained horse in seven years to win the Group I Rosehill Guineas.
The New Zealand Derby winner made his Australian debut in Saturday’s 2000m race for threeyear-olds at Rosehill and upstaged the locals in the heavy conditions to continue his rise.
Gingernuts defeated race favourite Inference by two and a quarter lengths, joining Jimmy Choux (2011), It’s A Dundeel (2013) and Volkstok’n’barrell (2015) as recent New Zealand-trained winners of the race.
The Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards-trained gelding needs to be a late entry for the Australian Derby but Richards confirmed the intention to run in the 2400m classic at Randwick in two weeks, with Gingernuts now the $4.60 favourite.
Connections will need to pay a $44,000 late entry fee but there is plenty of money in the bank already.
Incredibly, Gingernuts has now won more than $1 million New Zealand dollars from just eight starts for five wins and a sec- ond.
‘‘He’s going to be awfully hard to beat in a couple of weeks’ time,’’ Richards said.
Richards felt Gingernuts had kept improving since the New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie and the drop in distance to 2000m on Saturday was countered by the testing conditions.
‘‘It’s a huge buzz. I’m really pleased for the team at home,’’ Richards said.
‘‘David (Ellis) bought the horse at the ready to run sales and didn’t pay a lot for him and we syndicated him amongst some clients of ours and they’re having a whirlwind ride.’’
Gingernuts carries the colours of Ellis’ Te Akau Stud and Ellis is the managing owner of a syndicate which race the son of Iffraaj who was bred by Goodwood Stud.
Some of the 42 owners were trackside wearing specially made orange caps to match the horse’s colours.
‘‘We flew over for the day. We’ve actually got to leave in 45 minutes,’’ said Craig Saunders, one of a handful of owners who made a flying visit from Auckland.
‘‘Most of us are booked to come over for the Aussie Derby in a couple of weeks.
‘‘It was a little spur of the moment to come over today but we thought we’re on a hell of a ride and it doesn’t happen very often.’’
Jockey Opie Bosson settled Gingernuts back before making his run around the field from the 800m.
Gingernuts reeled in leader Harper’s Choice just inside the final 200m and despite tiring late, he had a comfortable margin over Inference on the line with So Si Bon another short half-head away third.
‘‘He still wasn’t 100 per cent happy in the ground but all the way up the straight he just had his ears pricked, looking around,’’ Bosson said.
‘‘He’s a pretty good horse, and getting better.
‘‘The way he’s stepped up has just been incredible.’’
Earlier on the Rosehill card, Kiwi mare Sofia Rosa faded late in the Group I Ranvet Stakes to fin- GETTY IMAGES ish fifth in a field of just seven runners.
The Stephen Marsh-trained four-year-old, who skipped Thursday evenings Group I Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie to head to Sydney, trailed pacemaker Antonio Giuseppe for most of the journey but struggled in the heavy going come the final stages.
Saturday’s run was her final hit out before the Lib Petagna owned mare takes on the mighty mare Winx in the A$4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 8.
Petagna won the 2016 edition of the Queen Elizabeth with the recently retired Lucia Valentina – on the same day that Sofia Rosa won the ATC Oaks.
Our Ivanhowe won the weightfor-age Ranvet Stakes by three and a quarter lengths ahead of the heavily backed favourite Hartnell, with a further three quarters of a length back to The United States in third.
Sofia Rosa’s jockey Blake Shinn was a left a little disappointed with the effort of the Makfi mare, who finished nine lengths behind Our Ivanhowe.
‘‘Very plain for mine,’’ Shinn said. ‘‘I thought she travelled well but when the sprint when on she was left flat footed.’’ IT seems the more she wins the easier it gets for Winx but the harder it is for her trainer.
The mare made light work of the heaviest track possible in her defence of the Group I George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill yesterday, while her trainer Chris Waller watched in awe like everyone else as she claimed her 11th Group I win and 16th successive victory.
There were suggestions she could be vulnerable over 1500 metres with Chautauqua and Le Romain given some support in the lead-up.
But the seven and a quarter lengths she put on runner-up Le Romain told a different story.
Waller watched the race away from the crowd which cheered her home and quietly shook his head.
‘‘She is unbelievable,’’ Waller said.
‘‘I can’t explain it. We try to do our part to make sure she is ready on the day.
‘‘It’s a huge responsibility and one we take seriously,’’ Waller said.
Winx was at $1.15 early in the week but jumped at $1.26 with Chautauqua $9 and Le Romain $10.
Having his first start at 1500 metres, champion sprinter Chautauqua finished one and a quarter lengths behind Le Romain as the two struggled to make any impression in the straight as Winx set sail for home.
The champion mare’s jockey Hugh Bowman is among her biggest fans.
‘‘She’s just so special. I’m at a loss to explain it,’’ Bowman said.
‘‘There is a great deal of responsibility to be involved with her but with that comes a great deal of confidence.
‘‘My only worry is am I going to get on her, canter to the gates one day and feel that engine just isn’t there.’’
‘‘I feel like she is in the prime of her career.
‘‘I expected more tempo early but I knew on the way to the barriers she meant business today.’’
Winx will now head to the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on April 8 at Randwick where she will again be a short favourite.
Part-owner Debbie Kepitis is no stranger to racing success as part of the Ingham family who count Octagonal among their many champions.
But crowd favourite Winx is something else.
‘‘It is very uplifting. It’s something you can’t describe,’’ Kepitis said after hearing and watching the Rosehill crowd cheer Winx to victory.
‘‘There’s adrenaline when you win a horse race with a horse and with such a special horse.
‘‘But when you have the whole of this racecourse willing her to win, it is just indescribable.’’
‘ We flew over for the day. We’ve actually got to leave in 45 minutes’ CRAIG SAUNDERS