Horse racing: Trainer smiling at prospect of rare chance to work with $2m-plus horse

Quintessa. Photo / Peter Rubery

Mark Walker can be excused for feeling like he has won even before he goes racing this weekend.

Because while there is plenty of work to be done at three very different North Island thoroughbred meetings the premiership-winning trainer is already smiling at the prospect of the new equine toys he is going to get to play with.

As senior trainer for giant syndication company Te Akau, Walker was paying plenty of attention from afar as boss David Ellis spent up huge at the Gold Coast yearling sales, the first days of a sales season which will very quickly move to Karaka in two weeks.

Ellis created a new sales topper at the sale when he paid A$2.1 million ($2.26m) for a yearling filly by new Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett out of Te Akau’s former superstar mare Avantage.

That caused a huge ripple as New Zealand entities paying A$2.1m for yearlings is rare enough but earlier in the week Ellis secured two A$1.3m colts, one in association with Coolmore.

He purchased other high-priced fillies that Walker and his team of Ben Gleeson (Victorian co-trainer) and Sam Bergerson (Matamata co-trainer) will get to prepare.

“It is very exciting and we are having a real crack,” Walker deadpans.

The reality is few New Zealand trainers ever get to train $2m-plus horses as they are usually purchased for the biggest Australian trainers so Ellis’s splurge on the Gold Coast suggests a ramping up of their Australian operation based at Cranbourne.

But those intentions don’t seem to be weakening their New Zealand base as the juggernaut has rolled up to 91 domestic wins for the season, just on double that of second-placed Stephen Marsh, so on track for a similar winning margin to last season’s premiership.

All the big barns crave Group 1s though and there are two on offer at Trentham tomorrow and remarkably Walker and Bergerson don’t have a starter in the $450,000 Berkett Telegraph.

They do have three in a very even running of the $500,000 Cambridge Stud Levin Classic, which has moved back to mid-January and provides punters with a test between proven and emerging form.

Walker says while favourite Quintessa has to be hard to beat after finishing a close second in the Auckland Guineas last start, newcomer Certainly can test her.

“Quintessa has the runs on the board and will be hard but Certainly is a filly we have always thought a lot of.

“She is in a Group 1 at only her third start and not many win doing that but I wouldn’t be surprised if she goes a big race.

“We also have Trobriand in and he is back from his 2000 Guineas campaign but he is hard to get a handle on because he is so laid back in his work.

“I’d go Quintessa as our best chance but only narrowly.”

There are plenty of chances in the 1600m Group 1, with Zabmanzor and Just As Sharp having the black-type form to suggest they can figure, but fillies Mary Shan and Impendabelle might present the most danger to the Walker trio.

Mary Shan is a very good filly only just beaten by Molly Bloom in the Eight Carat Classic and she would be favourite from a better draw, with her barrier 11 potentially niggly in a big field.

Impendabelle was second to Molly Bloom in the 1000 Guineas and not suited by being down on the wet section of the straight at Pukekohe last time, but from barrier two gets her chance with Michael McNab on.

As deep as the Trentham meeting is it is almost outshone by the return to racing of Ellerslie on Sunday after 22 months off for the installation of the new StrathAyr track.

While the $100,000 Gingernuts Salver is the black-type race at the twilight comeback meeting, more eyeballs will be on the open 1400m which features Legarto, Sharp N Smart and Wild Night.

“He (Wild Night) gets 4kg off Legarto on Sunday whereas in two weeks he has to give her 2kg so if he doesn’t beat her this week he won’t in a fortnight,” says Walker.

Both horses, with Sharp N Smart and Sacred Satono, are using Sunday’s race as a prelude to the Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic on TAB Karaka Millions night and Wild Night does have the fitness edge on Legarto and has beaten her before, albeit when Legarto was unlucky.

Galloping’s huge weekend

Friday: Tauranga

Saturday: Trentham hosts two Group 1s, two Group 3s and a Listed race; Wingatui races.

Sunday: The return of racing at Ellerslie, headlined by glamour mare Legarto and reigning Horse of the Year in Sharp N Smart.