Speed Demon has trainer Nick Kneebone on the Group 1 scoreboard already. Photo/Peter Rubery
Nick Kneebone has hit the ground running in his first full season of training, highlighted by his first Group 1 result last weekend, when Speed Demon ran home well to finish third in the Manawatū Sires’ Produce Stake at Trentham.
The son of Yes Yes Yes had won one of his previous four starts, and while confident of a bold showing in Saturday’s juvenile feature, Kneebone was rapt to see Speed Demon belie the racing pattern of the day when roaring home from the rear of the pack to capture black type.
“I am absolutely thrilled,” Kneebone said. “I was quite confident, I thought he would run top five and he went a little bit better than that, so I was really happy.
“It was a massive run because they weren’t really making up much ground. I was worried going into it because he has always gotten back and conserved energy for a big finish, but to finish off like that in a Group 1 was amazing.
“I didn’t even expect to have a runner in a Group 1 let alone place in one, it is massive. We are only a small team, so I must be doing something right.”
Kneebone said the day was made even more special by his Sydney-based parents, Mike and Adele Kneebone, being trackside.
“Mum and Dad were there, they flew over from Sydney and they were just as thrilled as I was,” Kneebone said. “It was awesome to have them there.”
Kneebone, the son of New Zealand Bloodstock’s director of business development Mike Kneebone, established a 20-box barn in Cambridge last year and he is enjoying being back in his homeland after spending the majority of his life in Singapore and Australia.
“I was born here, so it has always been home,” he said. “I spent a lot of time in Singapore, where I went to school, and then I moved to Australia when I was 18 and I was with John Sargent [Randwick trainer] for about seven or eight years, and with Jim and Greg Lee at Randwick.
“I have been away from home for a little while, but it is really good to be back.
“It’s starting to really feel like home now. It’s a really good set-up here, we have got the pool right there and we are right across from the track. It’s really good to have all the facilities so close.
“We have got 15 in work and there are a lot of breakers to come in. I have got 20 boxes here and eight paddocks, so we will be full in the next month or so.”
While Speed Demon has been the headline act for Kneebone’s barn, he said plenty of young talent has passed through his hands, but with the stable’s business model geared towards trading young horses, many are sold before they get to the races, which made Saturday’s result even sweeter.
“I have had a few that have sold to Hong Kong already that have won trials,” Kneebone said. “I had a Capitalist, he was probably the best talent-wise that I have had in the stable, but he is moving to Hong Kong.
“Any really good ones it is hard for me to keep because they get moved on. This one [Speed Demon] was able to slip under the radar a bit, but I thought he was impressive last prep when winning over 1100m. He was just one of the ones that was mature early and it’s like training an older horse, you can just do anything with him and travelling away, he doesn’t turn a hair.
“There have been offers [for him] now, but it would have to be a good offer for him to leave, we really like him and would love to see what he can do as a 3-year-old.”
Kneebone said Speed Demon has come through Saturday’s run in fine fettle, and he will now head to the spelling paddock in preparation for a spring campaign geared towards the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November.
“Joe [Doyle, jockey] got off and immediately said he was a Guineas horse, so we will go with that for now,” Kneebone said.
“He has come through it well. I will probably tip him out now and get him ready for a 3-year-old season. I have always thought he would be a better 3-year-old, so I will look after him and see if we can have some fun as a 3-year-old.”
Bred by Blandford Lodge’s Graham and Helen-Gaye Bax, Speed Demon was purchased out of their farm’s 2025 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 2 Yearling Sale draft by Mike and Adele Kneebone under their Patella Bloodstock banner for $20,000 at the behest of their son, and he has more than repaid that initial purchase price, having now earned more than $77,000 in prizemoney.
“He was one of my picks,” Kneebone said. “Dad is the pro, but I spotted him in Book 2 and I said to Dad that I really liked him. We just had one bid on him, and we got him for reserve price, so he was quite a good pick-up.”
Kneebone is now hoping to add to his season tally when he heads to Pukekohe on Wednesday, where he will line up 4-year-old gelding Nick Time in the Yourride (2100m).
“It’s a little bit tricky for him out there [barrier 17] but he will go forward,” Kneebone said. “I think he is going to be really good over ground.
“He went back to a mile last start because I wasn’t sure if he was a bit outclassed the start before at Matamata, it was quite a strong race over 2000m, but it was a respectable run.
“I just wanted to see if he wanted a mile, but Craig [Grylls, jockey] got off last start and said he definitely wants a trip. He has got that on Wednesday over 2100m and back down to 60 grade, so he should be competitive.”
– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk