Callsign Mav produced a remarkable performance in his own right, beating the rest of the field by seven lengths, while Aotea Lad was third.
"He's scary, he just keeps improving," Harris said. "He was slow away and I opted to go forward and take bad luck out of the equation. He was just too good. I had to have a couple of looks over my shoulder, just to see where everything else was.
"He'll be even better over a mile (1600m) — he'll eat it up."
Born on November 16, so still not yet a 3-year-old, Catalyst is now the winner of four of his five starts for owner-breeder Dick Karreman.
The blue-and-white The Oaks Stud colours had previously been carried to a close second placing in the Hawke's Bay Guineas by All Decked Out in 2013.
"Wow, that was something special," trainer Clayton Chipperfield said. "Having a horse like this is just an absolute dream start to my training career." Catalyst is now rated a $1.15 chance for the 2000 Guineas — rare odds for an elite race in New Zealand.
- NZ Racing Desk