The weather was really bad at the start of the day but half way through the Newmarket the sun came out and it was awesome.
Really big crowd:
Too lazy to put the videos on Youtube right now, so I'll post links to the videos on the Ellerslie website instead!
Newmarket Handicap: Needuask was a very impressive winner of this race. After he won the G2 Concorde last start we were wondering if it was a fluke...well, obviously it wasn't. This was an even bigger performance. Clifton Prince went well under the top weight for 2nd and Mary Ellen closed nicely for 3rd.
Eight Carat Classic: Satinka, very unlucky in more than one big race so far this season, finally got her turn. She was ridden brilliantly by Bruce Herd (who also won the Zabeel on Sir Slick), with a beautiful run along the inside, and just held out Pretty Vegas and Keepa Cruisin in a tight 3-way finish. Insouciant was very disappointing, it was her first time on a right-handed track and Michael Walker said it felt like she didn't like racing this way around at all.
Great Northern Guineas: This race had no pace at all, which disadvantaged a lot of the back runners, but Prince Kaapstad still won impressively. It was another great ride by Samantha Spratt (who also won the Newmarket on Needuask), but the horse was headed by Il Divo and fought very strongly to regain the lead. A really excellent performance. Six O'Clock News closed nicely for 3rd.
Zabeel Classic: A bit sad to see Xcellent's unbeaten NZ record broken, but if any horse had to do that I'm glad it was Sir Slick. He's just such a tough horse, he goes straight to the lead in every race and makes it almost impossible for anyone to get past him down the stretch. When he's in his best form there aren't many better horses to watch in NZ.
Now it's only 6 days until the next big day, January 1!