Win an Xcellent tonic for Algie

The win of Xcellent in the $500,000 New Zealand Derby at the Auckland Racing Club's meeting at Ellerslie on Sunday was a tonic for one of his owners, former Wairarapa-Bush rugby identity Kevin Algie.
Algie, who lived and worked in Masterton before transferring to Gisborne in the mid-1990s, is still in the process of recuperating from major heart surgery he had on November 18, but was at the course to watch Xcellent come from near last to crush high quality opposition in one of the country's major races for three-year-olds.
Now living in Auckland where he is employed as chief executive for the Enterprise Car Group, Algie is one of three partners in GKV Holdings which has a 40 per cent share in Xcellent. With him are Vern Curtis and Greg Peebles.
Others involved in the ownership of Xcellent are Graham Breingan, who also had a share in last year's derby winner Cut The Cake, Mike Gatt, Phil Heath, Dave Nicholson and the Wellington Racing Syndicate.
Algie, who coached Wairarapa-Bush senior B and age group rugby teams and had a close affiliation with the Greytown club, currently resides close to the Ellerslie track but it was only in the last week that he was considered fit enough, both physically and mentally, to actually be at the course for the race.
"I checked with the surgeon before I came over and he said that if the horse wins I could have one beer, one win and one glass of champagne,"Algie said. "But this win has been a fantastic boost."
Co-trainer of Xcellent, Matamata's Mike Moroney, said the winner of his only three starts to date is almost certain to race in Australia at some stage of his three-year-old year.
He rates the Pentire gelding as being "probably good enough" to be an AJC Derby hope and said it was now a matter of whether the timing of that event was suitable to have Xcellent in top shape to take on such a testing assignment.
"It might come up too soon??we might have to look at one of the later derbies over there or we could even wait until next spring with him," he said.
Xcellent's two previous starts had been in maiden and intermediate company but so impressive was he in winning on those occasions that he started second favourite in the New Zealand Derby, albeit a lukewarm one behind "hot pot" Cheval De Troy, who could do no better than fourth after receiving a perfect trip.
"He could be a superstar," rider Michael Coleman said of Xcellent.. "There was a muddling pace but he just dropped the bit and relaxed the whole way. He was still winding into it when he went up to Cheval De Troy halfway down the straight and there was plenty of petrol in the tank at the finish."
Coleman said he had gone into the race with plenty of confidence over Xcellent's prospects. "His work had been fantastic during the week and he's got a fantastic temperament.. I've liked him from the moment I first rode him. He's always given me a great feel."
Andrew Scott,29, who trains in partnership with Moroney, rated Xcellent's win as the highlight of his career.
Scott himself had spent more than two hours on Christmas Day walking the roads around Matamata with the horse so as to keep Xcellent in a settled frame of mind.
"We have walked him and walked him and it was the same today," Scott said after the race.
"He left on the early float this morning and we must have walked him for four hours after he arrived at the course. But I thought we might have overdone it at one stage when he wanted to go to sleep!"
Scott agreed he and Moroney had taken a calculated risk when they decided to have Xcellent go into the NZ Derby with just two starts behind him.
In fact, his win made him the least experienced Derby winner in modern times and what"s more he did it in style, coming from third last at the 600m to win going away.
"We were pretty relaxed about his preparation,"Scott said. "He's a light framed and very athletic horse and we thought he was fit enough to do the job."