Normally a horse that likes to race close to the front, he was outpaced in the early stages of that 1600m event and back second last starting the final 800m.
At that stage he looked a forlorn hope of filling a place let alone winning. Rider Sam Spratt, trainer Lee Somervell and Isabell Roddick all feared the horse was struggling to hit out freely on the firm ground or had gone amiss.
"At the 800 [metres] I thought I was gone for all money," Spratt said afterwards.
Addictive Habit started to pick up soon after but, even with the winning post in sight, Spratt thought she had no chance of winning.
"I thought we were only going to run third or fourth but that last 100m he really put in," she said.
Lee Somervell and Isabell Roddick watched the race together in the Riccarton grandstand.
"When the horse was so far back I thought there was something wrong with him or he had jarred up badly and Lee put his binoculars down and said he thought he had no chance of picking them up from there," Roddick said later.
But pick them up he did. Just when Ringo and jockey Opie Bosson looked to have the race won after forging past pacemaker Allez Eagle, Addictive Habit seemed to find another gear and got up in the last stride to snatch a half-head victory.
Illness prevented Isabell Roddick from being on course when Addictive Habit had achieved Group 1 glory in the Livamol Classic (2040m) at Hastings the previous month but she rarely missed seeing the horse race. She rates those last two victories, at Hastings and Riccarton, as two of the highlights of her life-long involvement in the thoroughbred industry.
Isabell and Graham Roddick bred Addictive Habit from the now deceased mare Chasing The Habit, who was a half-sister to the champion galloper Rough Habit.
The Roddicks have three close relations to Addictive Habit coming on and are also standing the stallion Citi Habit, a half-brother to Rough Habit, at their Montana Lodge Stud. The son of Citidancer was the winner of six races, including the Group 3 Merial Metric Mile at Awapuni and Group 3 Chairman's Handicap (2020m) in Queensland and also finished second in the 2001 Group 1 Brisbane Cup (3200m). He is standing at a fee of $1000 plus GST.
The Roddicks managed to purchase another mare from the Rough Habit family, On Eagle Wings, in Australia last year. She was in foal to Bullet Train, who is a three-quarter brother to champion European galloper Frankel.
The resultant foal is a filly and was one of 15 weanlings on show at the Hawke's Bay/Poverty Bay Thoroughbred Breeders annual weanling walk held on Sunday, July 23. The Roddicks intend keeping the filly to race and then breed from her to keep the family line going.
Bary leading HB trainer
John Bary managed to stave off a late challenge from Paul Nelson to be crowned the leading Hawke's Bay trainer on wins for the past season.
The 2016-17 racing season ended with last Monday's Levin meeting at Awapuni and Bary finished on 18 wins, two ahead of Nelson and six in front of the partnership of Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen.
Bary held a handy lead over his rivals entering the last month of the season but a win by the Nelson-trained No Change in a maiden hurdle race at Hastings on July 1 followed by a winning double by The Shackler and Amanood Lad in the Wellington Hurdles and Wellington Steeples at Hastings on July 20, saw him close the gap.
Nelson lined up six horses at Whanganui eight days ago but had to settle for a couple of minor placings while he had one runner at Rotorua last Saturday that was unplaced and could only manage a fourth with his last runner for the season at Awapuni on Monday.
Bary's tally of wins was four more than he achieved in the 2015-16 season when he finished second behind the Lowry/Cullen stable (15). However, it is four less than he managed when he was the district's leading trainer in 2014-15.
Kawi clear favourite
Kawi is currently a $4.00 favourite on the Fixed Odds Futures market for the Group 1 $200,000 Tarzino Trophy at Hastings on September 2 as he attempts to complete a hat-trick of wins in the race.
The weight-for-age 1400m event, previously known as the Makfi Challenge Stakes, is the feature race on the first day of the Bostock New Zealand Hawke's Bay spring carnival and always draws a high-class field.
Kawi beat Ryan Mark by one-and-quarter lengths when winning the 2015 running of the race and recorded the same margin when defeating El Pescado last year.
One of last season's star 3-year-old fillies, Volpe Veloce, is second favourite at $8.00 for the Tarzino Trophy with Perfect Fit on the next line of betting at $10.00.
The latest betting market is: $4.00 Kawi; $8.00 Volpe Veloce; $10.00 Perfect Fit; $12.00 Coldplay, Thee Auld Floozie; $16.00 Stolen Dance; $18.00 Longchamp, Luna Rossa, Miss Wilson, Rangipo, Sofia Rosa; $20 + others.
Impressive trial win
Class racemare Perfect Fit looked right on target for the Group 1 Tarzino Trophy at Hastings on September 2 when recording an impressive win in an 820m heat at Tuesday's Te Teko trials.
"She's pulled up well and had a good blowout and she's going to improve," said Ken Kelso, who trains the mare with his wife Bev.
"She'll go to the Foxbridge Plate and then on to the Tarzino Trophy. She's in good order and very forward, more so than she has been."
Perfect Fit has won six races, including the Group 1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes and she placed at the top level during her last preparation in both the Group1 Railway Stakes and the Group 1 Telegraph Sprint.
Rangipo back on track
Group One winner Rangipo is free of the back issues that hindered his last campaign and is now being aimed at the Group 1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings on September 2.
"He kept going sore in his back and we couldn't work out what it was," trainer Tony Pike said. "We checked his stifles and hocks and the usual places and couldn't come up with anything.
"In the end, we found some arthritic changes in his spine so that was the reason. We've treated him and it's made a huge difference."
The Group 1 New Zealand Derby winner won an 950m jumpout at Cambridge on Monday to further his spring preparation.
"He travelled well throughout and looked pretty happy doing it," said Pike, who has yet to decide if Rangipo will have a lead-up run before the weight-for-age Tarzino Trophy.
Transferring to Waller
All Roads, a lightly-tried stakes winner bred and part-owned by Hawke's Bay's Don Gordon, is to be campaigned in Australia this season.
The progressive 5-year-old has enjoyed a lucrative season from the Ruakaka stable of Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs, which has prompted connections to try their luck further afield.
"He's going to go over to Chris Waller in mid-August," Logan said. "He's in work with Tony Cole and they think it's worth having a tilt in Sydney."
All Roads began his career with Cole before he shifted north last year to take advantage of the better tracks. That move quickly paid off with four wins and a second from five starts on his adopted home track.
The Road To Rock gelding subsequently finished runner-up in the Group 2 Rich Hill Mile before he won the Group 2 Japan-New Zealand International Trophy.
His last appearance resulted in a close sixth in the Group 2 Easter Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie in April. He has only had 20 starts for six wins and five seconds.
All Roads is out of the Dance Floor mare Dancing Daze and was bred by Gordon in partnership with Little Avondale Stud. They sold the horse for $40,000 at the Select session at the 2013 Karaka yearling sales but Gordon retained a share.
Dancing Daze, who is now deceased, was the winner of six races including the Group 2 Grosvenor Championship Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie and the Listed Levin Stakes (1400m) at Otaki. She also finished second in the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa.
Dancing Daze's dam War Cry was a half-sister to the best horse Gordon has raced, the high class racemare Mun Lee. She was the winner of 14 races including the Group 1 Lion Brown Sprint and was the 1977-78 Three-year-old Filly of the Year.