Double delight for Zackey
Fresh off winning the first feature race at Te Rapa on Saturday aboard Waitak, South African jockey Craig Zackey added the main event when he guided Prise De Fer to a narrow victory in the Group III Eagle Technology Stakes (1600m).
Zackey used similar tactics to those used aboard Waitak in the Listed Eagle Memorial, as he allowed the seven-year-old Savabeel gelding to settle last before improving to join the leaders inside the final furlong and just hold on to beat the fast-finishing Taranaki visitor Sinarahma.
The win capped a superb day for trainer Mark Walker who had earlier produced the trifecta in the two-year old race with Doubletree by Hilton Karaka Million (1200m) contenders Tokyo Tycoon, She Turns Heads and Talisker while also taking the first race with Soprano Supremo.
Those victories complemented his winning double at Wanganui where he took the feature event, the Listed Wanganui Cup (2040m) with La Flora Belle and an undercard event with Inca Belle.
The Matamata mentor cut a satisfied figure after Prise De Fer captured his 10th career victory, as it was his first win in six starts in his current campaign, although he had been placed in four of those runs including finishing third in the Group I Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) at Hastings.
‘‘It was a really good effort as horses like this can be tough to place at times,’’ Walker said. ‘‘They are at the top of the handicaps and this race worked out really great today.
A champion apprentice in South Africa, Zackey, 27, has ridden 10 Group I victories in his homeland.
Having come from the bustling melting-pot of Johannesburg last month, Zackey is enjoying New Zealand’s open spaces and has already made a good impression, winning a Group II with Demonitisation at Tauranga earlier this month.