11 G1 Winners to Contest Next Stage of NZB Championship at Caulfield

The third leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Spring Weight-For-Age Championship has attracted a field full of star power in the Group 1 $400,000 Hyland Race Colours Underwood Stakes at Caulfield over 1800m.

Ocean Park (NZ) winning the Group 1 Underwood Stakes on his way to claiming the NZB Spring WFA Championship last year.

A high-class cast of 14 horses has been assembled for the weekend’s Group 1 feature that was last year taken out by Ocean Park (NZ) (Thorn Park) on his way to claiming the 2013 Championship crown.

Of the 14 runners, 11 have already been successful at Group 1 level.

The undoubted star of the turf so far this spring has been Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock). Unbeaten in her nine career starts, the Mark Kavanagh trained mare returned from a long injury lay off in the Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes at Caulfield three weeks ago.

The mare that carries the Coolmore silks has captured the imagination of the racing public in her two blistering performances this season, running out an easy winner last Saturday in the Group 2 Stocks Stakes as well. She is the current joint-leader in the NZB Spring WFA championship.

The other horse at the top of the standings is the Darren Weir trained Puissance de Lune (Sharmardal) on the back of his dominant performance in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on 17 August. The current favourite for the Melbourne Cup has since been defeated in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m), going down by the barest of margins.

The horse that lowered the colours of Puissance de Lune last start was another European import, Foreteller (Dansili). Trained by the red-hot Chris Waller, the seven-year-old gelding has become somewhat of a giant killer, recording his second Group 1 victory in Australia in winning the Makybe Diva Stakes at long-odds following another upset in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes in the Sydney Autumn.

New Zealand will be well represented by (It’s a) Dundeel (NZ) (High Chaparral) and Silent Achiever (NZ) (O’Reilly) in the third leg of the Championship at Caulfield.

The Murray Baker trained (It’s a) Dundeel was unlucky on his seasonal debut in the Group 1 NZB Memsie Stakes, not receiving a clear run until inside the last furlong. A step up to 1800m will suit the four-year-old colt that captured the Sydney Three-Year-Old Triple Crown last season as part of the four Group 1 races he won in a stellar three-year-old season.

The unluckiest runner out of the Group 1 NZB Memsie Stakes was undoubtedly Silent Achiever. The Roger James trained New Zealand Derby winner went to the line untested as jockey Steven Arnold never found a gap and the horse travelled across the line with plenty of steam left to give.

The partnership of Lloyd Williams and trainer Robert Hickmott has two runners with leading credentials entered for Saturday’s feature race. Last season’s Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon (Montjeu) is second-up from a spell following an eye-catching run behind Atlantic Jewel in the Group 1 NZB Memsie Stakes and is a horse that will appreciate the rise in distance.

The other runner the combination has entered is Sea Moon (Beat Hollow), a dual Group 2 winner in the Northern Hemisphere that has also been the runner-up in the Group 1 Breeders’ Cup (2400m).

Another European import in the field is the Group 1 German Derby winner Waldpark (Dubawi) for trainer Anthony Freedman. The entire was the unlucky runner in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at his first appearance on Australian soil.

Victoria’s leading trainer of last season Peter Moody has two horses entered in the race with triple Group 1 winner Manighar (Linamix) a leading chance in the race for owners OTI Racing on the back of an encouraging fresh-up performance. The stable is well-supported by My Quest for Peace (Galileo), a multiple stakes winner in Europe.

The lightly race Ethiopia (Helenus) has only won one race, that being the Group 1 Australian Derby, but has been competitive at the elite level his entire career and ran a bold race in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes. He is another that will appreciate the increase in distance.

There are three interstate raiders that include the Western Australian Group 1 winner Mr Moet (Mosaytor), last season’s Group 1 Emirates Stakes winner Happy Trails (Good Journey) and the reigning Group 1 Crown Oaks winner Dear Demi (Dehere) for Sydney trainer Clarry Connors.

The winner of the Group 1 Underwood Stakes will receive 10 points in New Zealand Bloodstock’s Caulfield Spring Weight-for-Age Championship with second earning 8 points, third earning 6 points, fourth earning 4 points, fifth earning 3 points and sixth to eighth each earning 1 point.

The 2013 New Zealand Bloodstock Spring WFA Championship will see the best horses in Australasia compete for A$1.37 million in prizemoney plus trophies to the value of $25,000.

To view the field for Saturday’s Group 1 Hyland Race Colours Underwood Stakes, click here.

To view the current leader board for New Zealand Bloodstock’s Spring WFA Championship at Caulfield, click here.