Beefeater bonus for birthday gift
CHRISTOPHER Grace’s celebrations were topped off in style at New Plymouth yesterday.
The prominent Hunterville breeder and owner’s familiar green jacket and gold sleeves were home at the head of the Platinum Homes Taranaki Cup ( 1800m) after jockey Rosie Myers guided Beefeater to victory.
‘‘It’s Christopher’s birthday today so this is a good present,’’ Awapuni trainer Roydon Bergerson said. ‘‘I thought the horse would be a big chance.’’
A winner two runs back, Beefeater came into the race off the back of a fourth placing in the Anniversary Hcp (1600m).
‘‘He came through Trentham well and he probably needed the race at Wellington after missing a run at Awapuni,’’ Bergerson said.
Beefeater has now won six of his 23 starts and a crack at the Group One Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa next Saturday is now up for discussion.
A son of Alamosa, Beefeater settled back in the field before Myers put the pre-race plan into action.
‘‘I said to Rosie to get him going at the 600m mark and keep him rolling, he’s a big horse and it was a good ride,’’ Bergerson said.
Beefeater strode to the front in the straight and fought off the challenge of Scapolo, who was giving the winner six and a-half kilos, to win by a neck with Travimyfriend a solid third in front of Brighton.
‘‘You can’t afford to get held up on him and when we got to the front he pulled up,’’ Myers said.
‘‘To his credit though, when Scapolo came up he really fought hard.’’ ● TALENTED youngster Bit Lippy deservedly broke through for the first victory of his fledgling career at New Plymouth with a no-nonsense performance.
The Matamata youngster had placed in each of his previous three starts, all in black type company, and he capped that form with success in the Phoenix Park 2YO Classic (1200m).
Bit Lippy finished second on debut behind Melt in the Ashford Park 2YO Stakes (1100m) at Pukekohe and he again finished runner-up to the unbeaten filly in the Eclipse Stakes ( 1200m) at Ellerslie.
In between times, the Showcasing gelding ran third in the Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1200m) at Trentham.
‘‘He didn’t jump out so well in his last couple, but he got home well at Wellington after it took some time for him to get out and the leader was gone,’’ trainer Wayne Hillis said.
Bit Lippy cleared the gates smartly for rider Cameron Lammas to take a handy sit one off the fence, before improving three-wide across the top.
They were in front soon after RACE IMAGES straightening and had no trouble keeping the challenge of Platinum Mam’selle at bay in the closing 200m.
Handsome Rebel made late ground to cut Wisdom Patch out of third money.
‘‘He’s learning all the time and I couldn’t be happier with him’’ Hillis said. ● TONY PIKE can’t hide his regard for his New Zealand Oaks (2400m) candidate Treasure.
‘‘I think she’s one of the best staying fillies that I’ve trained,’’ said the Cambridge conditioner.
‘‘We’ve always had a massive opinion of her, she’s just taken a few runs to work things out and the blinkers have helped her.’’
The subject of a hefty betting plunge, Treasure produced an impressive display to beat her stablemate Caricature in the Fasttrack Insurance Oaks Prelude (1800m).
She settled midfield on the fence before rider Michael McNab angled into the clear across the top and the filly was too good in the straight, winning by two-anda-half lengths. AFTER a false start the night before, Harness Racing New Zealand’s ovarian cancer awareness campaign kicked off with a win at Otaki on Friday.
The campaign sees every female driver in the country wearing teal pants in races for six weeks, with $400 donations for every win coming from a combination of Harness Racing New Zealand, Woodlands Stud and race clubs.
The campaign was due to start at Forbury Park on Thursday night, but it was abandoned due to flooding.
It was only fitting then that New Zealand’s all-time winningest female driver, Nicky Chilcott, of Cambridge, got the ball rolling with a win behind her stable runner Razor Brogden at the Kapiti Coast Harness Racing Club’s meeting.
Chilcott, with 620 driving wins, is the northern ambassador for the campaign and says it a very worthy cause in her eyes.
‘‘I think it’s fantastic. It’s a cause very close to my heart as my mother is a cancer survivor.
‘‘It’s great to be involved and I was very happy to get the first win.’’
Razor Brogden had put up three fair runs to start this campaign, but dug deep to resist the charge of outsider Mister Harris.
‘‘He fought really hard when challenged and sometimes, in the past, he hasn’t done that.
‘‘It was a good effort and I wasn’t surprised after his nice run [fourth] at Waipa last time.’’
Razor Brogden will now tackle the Otaki Cup today.
‘‘He’ll have to step up to win that, but there is nowhere to hide for him now.’’
Chilcott will be shooting for her third straight Otaki Cup after wins in the previous two years with Jet Black Shadow and Everything.
‘‘We’ve had a great run at Otaki – Jet Black Shadow and Everything both won on both days in the last couple of years.
‘‘It might be a bridge too far for Razor Brogden ($21).’’
Black Chevron ($2.05) and Classie American ($3.80) dominate the market for the cup, with upset first-day winner Marshal Star at $10.50.
Chilcott also has two other good chances in maiden pacer For Tony (race three), who ran fourth after breaking early on Friday, and enigmatic trotter Jasper Seven (R5), who broke after hitting the front.
He had trialled well previously on grass.
‘ You can’t afford to get held up on him and when we got to the front he pulled up.’