Jockey Kate Hercock drives Hastings-trained seven-year-old Meritable to the line to score a half-length win in an Open 1200m sprint at Woodville last Sunday. It was the horse’s first success since he was a three-year-old.
John Jenkins is a longtime racing journalist based in Hawke’s Bay.
The addition of blinkers and a 10 out of 10 ride from jockey Kate Hercock brought about a long-awaited return to the winner’s stall for Hastings-trained Meritable at last Sunday’s Woodville meeting.
The seven-year-old entire, a son of champion Australian sire Snitzel, scored a decisive half-length win in a $22,000 Open Sprint over 1200m at what was only his 20th career start.
Meritable performed with distinction as a three-year-old for former trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, winning one and finishing runner-up in three of his five starts in New Zealand, including second placings in the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton and Group 2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes (1400m) at Te Rapa.
He subsequently continued his racing career in Australia, where he ran fourth in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) before transferring to the care of Sydney trainer Annabel Neasham.
He was then offered for sale in Inglis Digital’s 2023 September Online Sale, where he attracted the attention of Christchurch owner Colin Wightman, who bought the entire for A$80,000.
Joining the stable of Mark Minervini, Meritable finished runner-up in the Listed Starlight Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill before being retired to stud in New Zealand last year.
However, Wightman decided to try his charge on the racetrack once more and earlier this year entrusted him to the care of Hastings trainers Mick Brown and Sue Thompson.
He pleased his new handlers with his four runs before his break-through victory at Woodville, his first in nearly four years.
“It’s been a long time between drinks,” Brown said.
“It is the first time we’ve raced him in blinkers and I think that made a big difference.”
“We weren’t sure how he would handle the heavy-10 track and he had a big weight to carry but it was good to have a senior jockey aboard and it is the first time we’ve had blinkers on him in a race since we’ve had him.”
Hercock was seen at her best aboard Meritable last Sunday, settling the horse sixth in the seven-horse field in the early stages. She then improved him along the inside rail passing the 600m peg before angling off the fence to take a gap between horses at the top of the home straight.
Meritable hit the front soon after and maintained a strong finish to the line to win by half a length from Farravallo, with three-quarters of a length back to third-placed Old Town Road.
Although he is only a two-race winner, Meritable has also recorded seven second placings.
“We took him up to Ellerslie last season and he was a bit unlucky when he ran [fourth] in a 1400m Open Handicap race,” Brown said.
Meritable wore blinkers in most of his three-year-old starts and so Brown and Thompson decided to put them back on last Sunday and they definitely made the horse concentrate a lot more.
They are enjoying having the Group 1 performer in their barn, with his placid demeanour making him an instant stable favourite.
“He is just a big stable pet, you wouldn’t think he was a seven-year-old entire,” Brown said.
Impressive fresh up win by Testwin
Hastings-trained Testwin, a horse that created a big impression when winning on debut over 1600m on his home track in January last year, returned to that sort of form with a dominant win over 1200m at last Sunday’s Taupō meeting.
The Time Test five-year-old was having only his eighth career start and was resuming from a lengthy spell, having not raced since finishing last of 11 runners over 2040m at Wanganui in November last year.
Guy Lowry, who now trains Testwin in partnership with Leah Zydnebos, said back then they thought the horse would develop into middle-distance performer as he is a half-brother to the highly successful jumper Nedwin. But the horse kept spoiling his chances by wanting to over-race.
“All last preparation we tried to get him to settle in his races but he wouldn’t,” Lowry said.
“He was sensational in winning jumpouts over 800 and 1000 metres but as soon as we tried to race him beyond that he just wouldn’t settle and it was ruining any chance he had.”
Lowry and Zydenbos had given the big gelding a nice slow build-up for last Sunday’s race return in a Rating 65 race, including a fourth placing in a 1000m Foxton trial last month.
“We just wanted him to relax in the running and he did,” Lowry added.
Jockey Masa Hashizume managed to settle Testwin in third place in the six-horse field before moving him up, three-wide, to challenge the leaders on the home turn.
Hashizume still had a good hold of Testwin at that stage and when he asked his mount to extend the big horse strode clear to win by five lengths, and even had his ears pricked on the line.
Testwin was bred by the late Tom Lowry, who passed away just over a year ago. The horse is now raced by his estate.
Guy Lowry said Testwin, who still remains in Rating 65 grade, will now have another 1200m race at Otaki on September 6 and then will probably be stepped up to 1400m.
“I think he is more of a miler than anything else and we might get him up to a middle distance but we’ve now worked it out he is definitely not a stayer,” he added.
Nelson closing in on personal milestone
Hastings trainer Paul Nelson edged closer to a career tally of 300 wins when The Bambino took out the $40,000 Foleys Transport Waipukurau Hurdle at last Sunday’s Woodville meeting.
The victory brought up win number 296 for Nelson in a career that has spanned 37 years.
In most of that time he has never had more than half a dozen horses in work at one time but his winning strike-rate, especially with jumpers, has been exceptional.
It has only been in recent years, after taking Corrina McDougal in as a training partner, that they have increased their numbers.
The Bambino’s success brought up a third win for the new season for the Nelson/McDougal stable after they won the Sydenham Hurdle with Dictation on the first day of the Grand National meeting at Riccarton on August 2 and Suliman’s victory in the Grand National Hurdle at the same venue a week later.
The Bambino was having his eighth hurdle start in last Sunday’s 3000m event and his previous seven hurdle starts had produced a win, two thirds, two fourths and two fifths.
The eight-year-old Rock ‘n’ Pop gelding is owned by Paul Nelson in partnership with Waipukurau’s Garry Sherratt and Cambridge trainer Ben Foote.
Sherratt has had a long association with the Nelson stable and they have combined for a number of major jumping race wins over the years, including back-to-back Great Northern Hurdles and a Grand National Hurdle with Just Not Cricket.
The Bambino was a lucky pick-up ride for jockey Emily Farr after Matthew Gillies became unavailable and she completed a winning double at the meeting, after also taking out the maiden hurdle race aboard Keepz Occurring.
Farr also brought up a personal milestone as Keepz Occurring was the 34-year-old’s 100th New Zealand win.
Indian Gold provides more riches
Indian Gold, a horse co-bred and co-owned by prominent Hawke’s Bay racing identity Peter Grieve, recorded his second win from only nine starts with a gutsy performance in a $35,000 Rating 65 race at New Plymouth last Saturday.
The five-year-old Ocean Park gelding was forced to race three-wide for the entire 1600m event but still had plenty in reserve in the home straight to surge clear for a one-and-a-half-length win, in the hands of apprentice jockey Frankie Barrett.
Indian Gold is trained on the New Plymouth track by Allan Sharrock and has now recorded two wins, three seconds and a third from his nine starts.
He is owned by Grieve in partnership with his Christchurch-based close friend Barry Thomas and the pair bred the horse out of the High Chaparral mare Chapinta, who was the winner of six races ranging from 1600m to 2200m.
With those bloodlines, Indian Gold should get better as he steps up in distance and could develop into a Cups horse in time.
Awapuni race meetings transferred
Following a track inspection of the Awapuni grass racing surface last Monday, the Manawatu Racing Club’s two race dates next month, September 6 and September 20, will now be transferred to other tracks.
The track inspection was attended by representatives from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, RACE Incorporated, the Racing Integrity Board, consultant Liam O’Keeffe, the New Zealand Jockeys Association and senior trainers.
The inspection team noted that grass growth on the course proper has not progressed as hoped, largely due to ongoing cold temperatures, and the surface requires further time before it is ready to safely return to racing.
As a result, the meeting on September 6 will now be run at Ōtaki while a venue for the September 20 meeting has yet to be confirmed.
All parties who attended the inspection last Monday will reconvene in mid-September to reassess the track’s progress and the track will continue to be closely monitored through this period.
At that time, a decision will be made on whether to proceed with return-to-racing protocols ahead of the scheduled meeting on Saturday, October 11.