New Zealand Racing, 2009-10

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A couple of names to remember from today's races at Taupo...

INDISPUTABLE (3yo filly) - 2 starts as a 2yo for a 3rd and a stakes 2nd. She won nicely today in what looked like a really strong maiden field - the 3rd horse, Guiseppina, had a bit of hype around her (she'll be better next time. She flipped over backwards before the race started and had her head in the air for the first half of the race).

GASTON (3yo gelding) - He only raced once as a 2yo and finished 7th. That was in Sydney in October last year! He's obviously improved a lot in the 10 months since then. He was near last at the turn but made a huge move in the (very short) stretch to get the win in nice time.

I think we'll see both of those a bit more in the next few months as we start to look at the 1000 and 2000 Guineas.

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Bulginbaah (known around the stable as Cecil) won the G3 Foxbridge Plate today. It was his 20th win and the second time he's won this race.



Probably the best NZ horse not to win a G1 in the last 10 years. Maybe he can change that in the Mudgway in 2 weeks.

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Bob Scott has trained and owned racehorses for 10 years but had never had a winner until Saturday, when 54-1 Ketrajero won the maiden 3yo race at Otaki. Good for him.

He says Ketrajero will now go on the Guineas trail. I'm not sure if he's good enough to be competitive in those races, but I hope he is.

[my miss storm cat]

Cheers to him!

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First G1 of 2009-10 on Saturday - the Mudgway at Hastings!

1 8702X Sarrera (AUS) 18 115 59.0 Mike & Paul Moroney, Matamata
2 13261 Bulginbaah 15 110 59.0 Trudy Thornton Ken Cropp & Catherine Wilson, Wanganui
3 1130X Mufhasa 12 110 59.0 Stephen McKee, Ardmore
4 71X58 Jacowils 3 104 59.0 Mark Hills Kristine Stead, Te Rapa
5 104X2 Maximum Star 2 104 59.0 Darryl Bradley Patrick Campbell, Hastings
6 709X1 Fritzy Boy 19 103 59.0 Alby MacGregor, Opaki
7 32310 Pindy 4 103 59.0 Kate Hercock Gary Hennessy, Matamata
8 8061X Prince Kaapstad 13 103 59.0 Opie Bosson Richard Yuill, Pukekohe Park
9 92316 Penrickson 6 102 59.0 Noel Harris Graeme & Debbie Rogerson, Tuhikaramea
10 2435X Vosne Romanee 8 100 59.0 Hayden Tinsley Jeff Lynds, Awapuni
11 383X6 Sterling Prince 5 99 59.0 Cameron Lammas Vanessa & Wayne Hillis, Matamata
12 235X9 Occidentalis (AUS) 1 92 59.0 James McDonald (a) Richard & Chris Otto, Te Awamutu
13 140X3 Tavistock 17 93 58.5 Jason Waddell Andrew Campbell, Opaki
14 1500X Altered Image 16 90 58.5 Mike & Paul Moroney, Matamata
15 655X7 Il Quello Veloce 10 95 56.5 Mark Du Plessis John Sargent, Matamata
16 6470X Alagant Satin 20 82 56.5 Troy Harris Murray & Bjorn Baker, Cambridge
17 71121 Alpha Pukeko (AUS) (B1) 9 100 59.0 Wayne Jones, Hawera
18 6X233 High Octane (B2) 7 98 59.0 Gregor Robson, Cambridge
19 X08X8 Cent Per Cent (AUS) (B3) 14 97 59.0 Scratching Graeme & Debbie Rogerson, Tuhikaramea
20 3163X Arlington (AUS) (B4) 11 90 59.0 Graeme & Debbie Rogerson, Tuhikaramea

Excellent field, but I think Mufhasa is so hard to beat here. The race has been won by so many of our best horses in the last 10 years - Sunline, Miss Potential, Xcellent and Seachange - and he was so amazingly good last season, I think his name belongs on that list. He's got a wide gate, but I don't think that'll stop him. He's at even money.

Prince Kaapstad could be a bit of a surprise horse at 12-1. He's a G1 winner and was 3rd in this race last year.

There's a really nice race on the undercard too - 3yos.

1 2041X Joey Massino 3 80 58.0 Peter McKay, Matamata
2 3120X Seven Schillings 7 78 57.0 Sam Spratt Richard Yuill, Pukekohe Park
3 5335X Corsage 5 75 56.0 James McDonald (a) Mark Walker, Matamata
4 7313X Bear Heart 1 74 55.5 Jason Waddell Shaune Ritchie, Cambridge
5 1223X St Germaine 8 73 55.5 Mark Du Plessis John Sargent, Matamata
6 1X2 The Hombre (AUS) 6 69 54.5 Michael Walker John Bary, Hastings
7 5016X Cat Woman 4 68 54.0 Noel Harris John Sargent, Matamata
8 5 Thundermore (AUS) 9 52 53.0 Peter McKay, Matamata
9 Benny The Ball 2 50 53.0 Mike & Paul Moroney, Matamata

Joey Massino and Seven Schillings are stakes winners, Corsage and St Germaine are G1-placed and Bear Heart is stakes-placed. Really nice field. Don't know anything about Benny The Ball. I would say that it's crazy to put a horse in for his debut in this race, but it's the Moroneys... Wait and see.

I'm really excited about Saturday.

[my miss storm cat]

Your horse of the year and Fritzy Boy are the only names I know!

Interesting about Benny... I wonder!

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The Hombre won that 3yo race really impressively. He went straight to the lead, sprinted again at the turn to go to a 3-length lead, and no one got close to him. 3 starts now for 2 wins and a second. He could be a good one. We'll have to wait and see how he runs in longer races though.

Joey Massino finished nicely to get second. He'll be better when he steps up to a mile.

The Mudgway is only about 3 hours away now.