New Zealand Racing 2013-14

[my miss storm cat]

Whoa that field is TOO good!!!!!

[my miss storm cat]

First off congrats cause I know you had to have had this.

I just watched the replay and am confused... what happened with Miss Pelear and Thunderbird One?

Survived is such a nice horse... pleasure to watch him win and nice run by Full of Spirit, of course. Another brave run from Fritzy but oh... the one who took my breath away was Final Touch, way out wide, and that extra gear she found.

Great race. I hope every one (Miss Pelear, Thunderbird One and poor Leigh!) is alright.

Happy to see The Filly won her race... haven't yet watched the replay but will get to it!

[_ed_]

Survived was fantastic - very impressive win. But, yeah, Final Touch's performance was the standout. How did she get 3rd from that far back? Phenomenal.

As for Thunderbird One and Miss Pelear, here's what happened. It's kind of hard to explain, but I'll try! Thunderbird One has a tendency to misbehave in the starting gate, so a member of the gate staff was holding on to him and keeping him still. They then let go of him just before the gates opened. That caused Thunderbird One to think, "Time to go!" And he charged forward, slamming against the gate. For some reason, that caused both his gate and the one next to it to lock shut while all the others opened. So he and Miss Pelear were hugely disadvantaged and didn't get a fair start. And Thunderbird One was still reacting from hitting the gate, so he bucked and dislodged his rider. No one was hurt, luckily, but it was an unfortunate situation. Stewards declared Thunderbird One and Miss Pelear non-runners because they were denied a fair start.

[my miss storm cat]

Thanks! I couldn't tell what on earth had happened!

Glad everyone is alright.

[_ed_]

Some nice stories coming out of the race.

Survived's owner-breeder, Don Gordon, has been racing horses for 60 years and had never had a G1 winner until Saturday. And he's lived in Hawke's Bay all his life, so it was on his home track.

And then there's the sire, Zed. He was a talented racehorse, but injury forced him to retire before he won anything of note. So he went to stud for an initial fee of $500! And no one really showed much interest. So he ended up going to a farm way down south and breeding with clydesdales! But now he has a G1-winning thoroughbred, and two other stakes winners, and so he's back on a major stud farm in the North Island for a fee 10 times higher than his initial one.

[my miss storm cat]

I remember you telling me about Zed ... great story... and wow Surviveds owners first G1? Nice!!!!!

[_ed_]

I went and met Archie today! He is so lovely and friendly - I spent ages just rubbing his nose.




I also got to meet one of his neighbours, the impressive debut winner All Decked Out. And he was friendly too!

[my miss storm cat]

He Is Beautiful!!!!!

Thrilled For You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[_ed_]

It was a great day.

Good news about Mufhasa:
http://www.theinformant.co.nz/racing...flying-colours

[_ed_]

Spectacular field for Ruakaka's 3-year-old stakes race this weekend.

[my miss storm cat]

Great to hear about Mufhasa, that was a fantastic race (I did watch if on your link in the paddock) and wow ed I am really embarrassed cause I only know 2 of those names.

Good luck to Antonio in his race and to Belfast Lad and Blood Brotha @Awapuni this weekend.

(... and Joesphine and Palm Island).

[_ed_]

That's understandable - they were a group of 3-year-olds who hadn't really been seen at stakes level yet. They had all been HUGELY impressive in maiden races etc. Sorry I didn't see this before the race - would have posted links to replays of those wins.

So it was exciting to see a group of horses who had all been so amazing against weak fields come up against each other for the first time. And the winner was... El Roca! Two for two now, and so impressive.

But how about the finish by All Decked Out? Huge. He's the one to follow out of this race into things like the Hawke's Bay Guineas.