Bonneval joins Kiwi greats as dual winner

Bonneval has become a dual horse of the year winner.

The Cambridge mare defended the title she won last year, as a three-year-old, when taking the premier prize at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards, in Auckland on Sunday night.

She is the fifth successive horse of the year winner trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman. The record-breaking training partnership prepared the 2014 winner Dundeel, who was followed by Mongolian Khan (2015 and 2016) and Bonneval.

The award was introduced in 1971 and Bonneval is the eighth horse to have earned the title more than once. The other multiple winners have been Sunline (four times), Show Gate, Rough Habit, Xcellent, Seachange, Mufhasa and Mongolian Khan.

Bonneval was also voted the champion middle distance performer for the 2017-18 season and the Baker and Forsman partnership was named trainer of the year.

Kawi (sprinter-miler), Avantage (two-yearold), Savvy Coup (three-year-old), Charles Road (stayer) and Wise Men Say (jumper) were the winners of the other horse categories. Premiership winner Sam Collett was voted jockey of the year and Isaac Lupton was named jumps jockey of the year, for the third time.

The prestigious contribution to racing award went to prominent breeder Nelson Schick, the driving force behind Windsor Park Stud. Its stallions have included Star Way, Volksraad, Thorn Park, Kaapstad, High Chaparral and Montjeu.

Bonneval dominated the voting in the middle-distance category with 40 votes, 25 more than Avantage. Kawi, NZ Oaks winner Savvy Coup and NZ Derby winner Vin De Dance were the others to attract votes.

Baker and Forsman, who won 146 races during the season, were unanimous winners of the trainer of the year award.

The partnership set new benchmarks for New Zealand trainers, with a record number of domestic wins and record stake earnings. Their 142 wins in New Zealand eclipsed their own record of 114 wins and their team earned more than $4.7 million in stakes in New Zealand. It was first time any stable had topped $4 million in a season.

Avantage, who won five of her six starts, received all bar one of the 61 votes cast in the two-year-old category and Wise Men Say dominated the jumpers category.