Hot Shockolate is at full stretch, under the urgings of apprentice jockey Niranjan Parmar, as she crosses the line for a long-neck victory in a $30,000 rating 65 race over 1200m at Awapuni last Saturday. Photo / Supplied
The addition of blinkers again worked the oracle when Hot Shockolate, raced by several Hawke’s Bay people, scored a game win in a $30,000 rating 65 race over 1200m at Awapuni last Saturday.
The Shocking mare was recording her fourth win from 25 starts and every time she has been first past the post she has carried a set of blinkers on her head.
Taradale’s Ken Robson is one of a group of eight people who race Hot Shockolate, and said the blinkers were obviously a key to her success but he also heaped praise on winning Indian-born jockey Niranjan Parmar.
“The blinkers certainly made the difference but I don’t think anyone else would have won on her … it was a great ride,” Robson said this week.
Hot Shockolate, who was also dropping back in class after a last-start third in rating 75 grade, drew the extreme outside barrier and was caught three and four wide for most of the race.
Parmar eased the mare back in the early stages before improving her around the field starting the last 600m. She was knocked off stride on the point of the home turn but Parmar never panicked, waiting until she got properly balanced up again before asking her for a finishing burst.
Clickety Click looked the likely winner when she shot clear up against the inside rail, but Hot Shockolate unleashed a powerful finish to get up and snatch victory by a long neck.
Parmar, 26, is apprenticed to the Te Akau Stable of Mark Walker and rose from virtual obscurity with two tremendous winning rides at the Wellington Cup meeting in January last year.
He experienced his first stakes victory in November when he rode Seajetz to win the Listed Karaka Classic (1500m) on Melbourne Cup day at Pukekohe and has now ridden more than 60 winners in New Zealand.
Born in a village in Rajasthan but raised in Mumbai, he attained his jockey licence in India and had 60 rides before coming to New Zealand.
Hot Shockolate is trained at New Plymouth by Bryce Revell, who also has a racing share in the mare.
The other members of the group that leases the mare are Robson’s two daughters, Lisa and Charon, Bryan Godber and Linda Hanley from Taradale, Kelvin Bland (Waipukurau) and Roger McDonald (New Plymouth).
Hot Shockolate is out of the Bertolini mare Shahbab, who was the winner of six races and stakes placed. She is now deceased but is also the dam of Prioress, who has recorded three wins and eight minor placings from 21 starts and finished third in a rating 75 race over 1300m at Awapuni last Saturday.
All four of Hot Shockolate’s wins have been on heavy tracks so she could be in for a successful winter campaign. Robson said she may start next in another $30,000 race at Tauranga on June 24.
Hawke’s Bay Racing has been allocated 14 race days for the next racing season, which commences on August 1.
Of special significance, among the new dates, is that there will not be a clash of three New Zealand gallop meetings on Hawke’s Bay Cup day.
This year’s Hawke’s Bay Cup meeting, staged on April 15, clashed with the Waikato Racing Club and the Canterbury Jockey Club resulting in a shortage of horses and experienced jockeys competing at Hastings that day.
Next season’s Hawke’s Bay Cup meeting will be run on Saturday, April 13, and will clash with only the Canterbury Jockey Club.
This year’s three-day Hawke’s Bay spring carnival will be run on September 9 and 30, and October 14.
The first day will again feature the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) while the Gr.1 race on the second day will be the Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m);the third day will again feature the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m).
The full list of race dates set down for Hastings next season is:
Saturday, September 9
Saturday, September 30
Saturday, October 14
Sunday, November 19
Wednesday, December 13
Sunday, December 31
Thursday, January 25
Sunday, February 18,
Wednesday, February 28,
Saturday, April 13
Saturday, April 27
Thursday, May 23
Saturday, June 29
Thursday, July 18
The Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Thoroughbred Breeders Association’s annual weanling walk will this year be held on Sunday, July 2.
A total of 37 weanlings will be paraded, representing 15 individual stallions, and association president Chris Walker believes this is a record number of weanlings to be presented from the area.
“We believe this indicates a positive vibe for the future with more local mares being mated,” Walker said.
Stallions represented among the weanlings are Almanzor, Ace High, Banquo, Contributer, Darci Brahma, Embellish, Eminent, Mongolian Falcon, O’Reilly’s Choice, Per Incanto, Proisir, Satono Aladdin, Shocking, Sneaking to Win and Time Test.
Three local thoroughbred stallions, Niagara, Mongolian Falcon and Sneaking to Win, will also be paraded.
Niagara, formerly based at The Oaks Stud in Cambridge, is now standing alongside Mongolian Falcon at Vicki Wilson’s Hau Ora Farm.
At the conclusion of the weanling walk there will be a luncheon held at Off The Track Restaurant at 1.30pm, where there will also be a silent auction of a variety of items and stallion service fees.
The stallion services to be auctioned are Banquo (Waikato Stud), Embellish (Cambridge Stud), King Of Comedy (Novara Park Stud), Swiss Ace (Westbury Stud), Niagara (Hau Ora Farm) and Mongolian Falcon (Hau Ora Farm).
For luncheon bookings contact Tracy at tracy@codenz.co.nz or Chris at ypukwalkers@xtra.co.nz
The Hastings training combination of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal will have a strong hand in the two feature jumps races being run at Te Rapa on Saturday.
The partnership has the exciting hurdler Nedwin entered for the $70,000 Waikato Hurdle (3200m) and will have a three-pronged attack on the $70,000 Waikato Steeplechase (3900m) with The Cossack, No Tip and Argyll.
With top New Zealand jumps jockey Shaun Phelan sidelined with a back injury, Australian-based Aaron Kuru has answered the call to reunite with the Nelson-McDougal stable.
He has been booked to ride both Nedwin and The Cossack, two horses he has ridden to success in the past.
Kuru rode Nedwin to win the Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle (3200m) at Te Rapa in September and then finished fourth on the horse in the Great Northern Hurdle (4200m).
He was the regular rider of The Cossack when the horse first started jumping, and teamed up with him to win both the 2020 Great Northern Hurdle and the 2021 Waikato Hurdle.
New Zealand apprentice Wiremu Pinn is contemplating a permanent move across the Tasman following his meteoric rise among Melbourne’s jockey ranks in the short time he has been there.
The 24-year-old is on a three-month stint in Victoria, but he is already looking to extend his time after just a few weeks.
Pinn showed his talent by kicking home his first Australian metropolitan treble at Sandown last Saturday, and he added two further wins to his Australian tally when guiding home Greyt Mumma to victory at Mornington on Monday and Born Hustler at Sandown on Wednesday.
Indentured to Daniel Miller in New Zealand, Pinn is temporarily under the care of Cranbourne trainer Michael Kent snr, and he is enjoying the experience so much that he would like to make the move fulltime.
“I am looking to do my three months here and, if I can, I would love to make it permanent,” Pinn said.
“I have only been here for a few weeks, but I am really enjoying my time here in Melbourne. The racing is great, so I would love to stay.
“I have been with Daniel Miller for a couple of years. He is a really good mate of mine and things have been smooth sailing since I have been at Daniel’s. He has looked after me really well.”