Hastings horses to the fore
Tauherenikau proved a happy hunting ground
It was a great day at Tauherenikau for Hastings stables last week when they won four of the races on the eight-race card. This exciting filly, Miss Labasa, won on debut there.
And continuing the Hawke’s Bay round-up John Jenkins pays tribute to Alan Jones, a jockey who punched well above his weight.
Hastings stables had another stellar day at the Tauherenikau meeting on Thursday last week, winning half of the eight race card. John Bary produced two impressive winners, The Tailors Niece and Miss Labasa, while the partnership of Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen also brought up a brace of wins with Performante and Makeitrain.
The Tailors Niece lived up to her outstanding breeding with a dominant 1and 13⁄ length victory in the 4 1000m 2-year-old race. The Showcasing filly was the slowest to begin in the five horse field but quickly rushed up to sit outside the leader and raced clear in the home straight.
The Tailors Niece was bred by prominent thoroughbred ownerbreeder Kevin Hickman and is closely related to Savile Row, who won three races in his colours and was also placed second in the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas.
Trainer Bary said The Tailors Niece is now likely to contest the Listed $50,000 Wellesley Stakes (1000m) at Trentham on October 27 and the big filly gives every indication that she will develop into an even better threeyear-old next season.
Miss Labasa looks a 3-year-old headed for much bigger things when she scored a runaway 31⁄ length win on debut in the maiden three-yearold race over 1400m.
The daughter of Swiss Ace tracked the pacemaking Mohaka to the home turn before taking over and raced right away in the concluding stages to win with plenty in reserve.
Miss Labasa is owned by Auckland’s Narendra Balia, who has been a long-time client of Bary’s stable.
He paid $30,000 for the filly at the select session of the 2017 Karaka yearling sales and she is a half-sister to the stakes placed Starvoia while her second dam is the South Australian Oaks winner Dowry.
Lowry and Cullen have some ambitious plans for Performante this season if the 3-year-old continues to progress.
The Super Easy gelding scored a dominant 13⁄ length maiden victory over 1400m at Tauherenikau and his trainers are now aiming him at some of the three-year-old classics next season.
“He is now having a bit of a quiet time but we think he is a very promising horse and, who knows, he might even turn out to be a New Zealand Derby contender,” co-trainer Lowry said.
Performante was having his third start after recording two seventh placings at Hastings back in April.
He is owned by his Cambridge breeder Tony Rider and is out of the Occidental Tourist mare Today Not Tomorrow, whose only win was at 2040m.
Makeitrain fulfilled the early prom- ise she showed with a strong maiden win over 1600m at Tauherenikau.
The daughter of Niagara was having her eighth start with her previous best placings being two good fifths, in the spring of last year.
The 4-year-old certainly had to produce a huge effort to win last week.
After being slow away and then caught three-wide at the tail of the field jockey Samantha Collett decided to send the mare on a lightning move around the field from about the 700m mark and they ranged up three-wide to challenge the leaders on the home turn.
Such an energy sapping move would have dulled the finishing burst of most horses but Makeitrain maintained a strong run and was getting right away from her rivals as she crossed the line 21⁄ lengths clear.
Makeitrain is raced by the Rain Syndicate, a large group of Hawke’s Bay people and some are first time owners.
The syndicate is managed by Nicola Sutherland, who co-bred the mare with four others in the syndicate, Andrew and Kathy Heynes and Kevin and Cristine Baylis. The other members are Erik and Christine Chilton, Simon and Melissa Turner, Trevor Spencer, George and Karen Bulled, Anton Bauerfeind and Frank and Dawn Grantham.
Makeitrain was one of only two foals produced by the Chief Bearhart mare Tycoon Miss, a horse that Guy Lowry trained to win two races in a row in January 2007.
Lowry said this week Makeitrain has come through her win in good order and will start next in a Rating 65 race over 1600m at Waipukurau next Thursday.
Ivan Kane adds to record
Australian-bred mare Pukalee is proving to be a successful producer for her Hastings owner Ian Holloway.
The Royal Academy mare produced her third winner from four foals to race when Ivan Kane took out a 1400m maiden race at Riccarton on October 6.
The 4-year-old Nadeem gelding, trained at Timaru by Michael Daly, was having his fourth start after recording a third, a fourth and a fifth from his previous three runs.
Holloway races Ivan Kane with a group that includes two close friends and brothers Alan Bartlett (Havelock North) and Rowland Bartlett (Kapiti Coast).
“The others all live down in Wellington,” Holloway said this week.
He added that Pukalee has been a worthwhile investment.
“I sold the first foal out of her by Sir Percy and he went to Singapore where he was called Numero Uno and won three races,” he said.
“She then produced Verna Audrey who also won three races and has now been retired to stud. The next foal was Rosie Jane who was unplaced and the next one has been Ivan Kane.”
Holloway now has an Alamosa yearling filly out of Pukalee and the mare has just produced another colt foal by Shocking.
“She is now going to be served by Per Incanto this year,” Holloway added.
Ivan Kane is expected to line up next in a Rating 65 race over 1600m at Riccarton tomorrow week.