That would suggest Damask Rose is a hot favourite to take their slot, with their next most logical NZB contender Age Of Discovery still on the way back up and not racing until the New Year.
He is unbeaten in two starts but missed the 2000 Guineas after a muscle strain and Te Akau are in the luxurious position that if they name Damask Rose for their slot and Age Of Discovery emerges as one of our best 3-year-olds then he will have plenty of other slot holders chasing him.
Both the Karaka Millions and NZB Kiwi markets have struggled for traction because many of our early season 3-year-old stars, like Captured By Love and Alabama Lass, aren’t eligible for either as they were bred and/or sold in Australia.
Our best 3-year-old Savaglee is being set for the Australian Guineas a week before the NZB Kiwi so is extremely unlikely to be in the slot race but still at least some chance to contest the Karaka Million Three-Year-Old.
Several NZB Kiwi slot holders have their eyes on high-class Australian-trained 3-year-olds but the right one may be hard to get, as not only are there plenty of rich races in Australia in March but colts and fillies there have securing top-level Australian black type as their connection’s main goal.
So, with Damask Rose seemingly back to her best and with plenty of upside to come, but just as importantly eligible for both races, she now becomes the logical favourite.
That would, of course, change if the Savaglee team commit to a Telegraph into the Karaka Million path before they head to Australia while a big-name Australian signing for the NZB Kiwi would impact that market.
Before then, Damask Rose gets to further embellish her reputation in the Auckland Guineas at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, for which she should only be better for Saturday’s win.
“I asked Opie [Bosson, jockey] when he was coming back to scale if that was as easy as it looked,” says Ellis.
“He said it was even easier.”
Not quite as stunning but still making a useful return on Saturday was Yaldi, who should have won the R65 but for gawking around in the closing stages.
He clearly has some upside and is NZB Kiwi eligible so could quickly announce himself as a contender in coming weeks.
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.
