Wanganui equine supplement manufacturer and distributor Vitapower has struck a unique treble on the international thoroughbred racing stage.
The family-owned company's supplementary products, Palamountains Extreme Equine Plus, marketed as Palamountains Equine Pro in North America, is in the diets of this year's Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another and 2012 Kentucky Oaks victor Believe You Can. It is also on the menu for rising New Zealand star Shez Sinsational, winner of the Gr2 Hollindale Stakes on the Gold Coast following her victory in the Gr1 Stella Artois Auckland Cup this season.
Her trainer Allan Sharrock is sold on the product.
"I use Extreme on all my horses, including Shez Sinsational. I have it included in the racehorse mix I get from Fiskins. It costs a few dollars more, but well worth it," the New Plymouth trainer said.
"There's nothing wrong with her, I just prefer to use Extreme, and the Equine Bone and Joint product, because precaution is far better than a cure. It just seems to improve the horse's general health and they want to eat and work - it's good stuff," Sharrock said.
Meanwhile, Kentucky Derby winning trainer Doug O'Neill also rates the Palamountains food.
O'Neill said I'll Have Another came out of the Derby in great shape.
"The colt looks great this morning," O'Neill said the day after the Derby was run.
"He licked his feed tub, was jogging sound, and had great energy. He looks fantastic," O'Neill said.
Rod Pearce of Wanganui, better known as founder of the Waitotara Meat Company, now operating under the Silver Ferns banner, is the exclusive distributor of Palamountains products in North America and feedback he is receiving from the thoroughbred fraternity is impressive.
"The victories of I'll Have Another in the Kentucky Derby and Believe You Can in the Kentucky Oaks provided an amazing result for Palamountains Equine Pro because both horses are trained on the product," Pearce said.
"In recent trips to America I have visited five of their top racetracks and two in Canada. I met a lot of trainers who had all their horses on Palamountains products and many of them have been clients for seven years. The enthusiasm for our products was most impressive. My reps say once they try the product it sells itself," Pearce said.
And aside from the remarkable treble, Palamountains Equine Pro was also in the diet of the 2012 Eclipse Awards Horse of the Year Havre de Grace in North America.
Apart from the wide range of ingredients that make up Extreme Equine Plus, the product's absorption rate holds one of the keys to its success.
Essentially, the nutrients, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, are suspended in a patented oil solution allowing the animals' systems to absorb and utilise all the important components to maximum effect - it makes the animals want to eat.
Unlike other supplements or processed foods on the market, this formulation has a 99.5 per cent absorption rate in contrast to the 10-20 per cent of traditional powders and pill supplements.
Developed with help from Massey University food technicians, Extreme Equine Plus also has the blessing of the wider scientific community after emerging from extensive field trials with impressive results.