Horse racing: Black-type winners addition icing on cake for Proisir Plate Group 1 opener at Ellerslie

Habana (pictured on the outer) was good enough to win a Rich Hill MIle last year but has only just snuck into the Proisir Plate. Photo / Kenton Wright

The depth of Saturday’s first Group 1 race of the new season is best summed up by the fact it took three withdrawals on Monday to sneak Habana back into the $400,000 Proisir Plate.

Which is saying something, when you consider he won the Group 2 Rich Hill Mile last year and is a high-class Rating 98 performer.

The Lance Noble-trained gelding is now guaranteed a place in the starting 16 for the Proisir over 1400m at Ellerslie on Saturday, which is kind of appropriate as he is named after a Springboks superstar and the Proisir is just hours before the All Blacks take on South Africa a few kilometres away at Eden Park.

Habana started Monday ranked 19th in the order of entry for the Proisir Plate but leapt into the race when not only Val Di Zoldo withdrew, as already flagged by trainer Tony Pike, but Team Rogerson pulled out both Sharp N Smart and Domain Ace.

Sharp N Smart will head to an open 1600m at Te Rapa on Sunday week while Domain Ace will instead contest a Rating 75 at Ellerslie’s comeback meeting this Saturday.

The three withdrawals on Monday mean Checkmate (previously 17th in the order), Quintessa and Habana all get into the field, with Meritable the only likely emergency.

That means the Proisir Plate boasts remarkable depth, as Checkmate was placed in the inaugural NZB Kiwi two starts ago, while Quintessa was a Group 1 Levin Classic winner at 3 who won the Cockram Stakes fresh-up at Group 3 level at Caulfield this time last year.

“We are stoked to get in and Warren [Kennedy] will ride,” Noble, Habana’s trainer, said.

“He is going well but it is a very, very good field and I think that shows the benefit of moving the race to Ellerslie.

“So many trainers are happy to be taking horses there because we know what sort of track we can expect, which is a huge deal at this time of the year.”

Grail Seeker and Legarto share $4 favouritism for the Proisir Plate but Wednesday morning’s barrier draw will be crucial to the final-field market for one of the most even Group 1 starting points to the New Zealand season in years.

The Proisir Plate is also a rarity in being a Group 1 race run over 1400m at Ellerslie, with the majority of the major races there being 1200m (Railway, Karaka Millions 2-year-old), 1600m (Karaka Millions 3-yeald-old) or the new NZB Kiwi, which is run over 1500m, as well as the 2000m races like the Zabeel Classic and Bonecrusher NZ Stakes for weight-for-age horses.

Saturday’s meeting also includes the $150,000 Gold Trail Stakes for the 3-year-old fillies over 1200m and the Sir Colin Meads Trophy open 3-year-old as well as a welcome return of the Ellerslie mega stake levels, with even the maidens and Rating 65 horses racing for $75,000.

Champion in doubt

Trainer Mark Oulaghan is suggesting two-time champion West Coast may miss the Great New Zealand Steeplechase later this month at Te Aroha.

The Great New Zealand Steeplechase on September 21 is the new name given to the Great Northern, which West Coast has won the last two years at Te Rapa.

While Oulaghan hasn’t totally ruled out starting in the 6200m iconic race, he said he won’t make a final decision until after West Coast races at Woodville this Sunday.

“But I’d say we are less than 50-50 of going,” he told the Herald.

“I am not sure Te Aroha is his track and I am thinking of putting him aside so we can start back earlier on him next season.” Jesko remains the $2.60 favourite for the first running of the Great New Zealand.

Oulaghan says the news is more positive with his hurdling star Berry The Cash who he intends to have at Te Aroha for the Great New Zealand Hurdle, which will be run on the first day of the jumping carnival, Friday September 19.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.