Aeliana (NZ) Breaks Through in Group One Ranvet

Through most of her four-year-old season, Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio) has taken on Australia’s very best and held her own. On Saturday the super-talented Karaka graduate finally got her day in the sun.

The A$1m Group One Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill was the fifth win of a 17-start career for Aeliana, who was bought by syndicators Star Thoroughbreds for $180,000 when offered by Rich Hill Stud in Book 1 of Karaka 2023 on behalf of co-breeders Nearco Stud. She has now earned over A$3.5m – more than 23 times her purchase price.

Aeliana showed her Group One quality as a three-year-old last season, where a five-length runaway in the Australian Derby (2400m) capped a preparation that also produced wins in the Group Three Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) and Group Three Reginald Allen Quality (1400m) along with seconds in the Group One Thousand Guineas (1600m) and Rosehill Guineas (2000m).

The Chris Waller-trained mare began her four-year-old season in the Group One Winx Stakes (1400m) in August, finishing second and beaten by a neck by the 12-time Group One winner Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock).

Aeliana’s next start produced a second to 10-time Group One winner Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) in the Group One Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m), followed by a fifth in the Group One Turnbull Stakes (2000m) and an unlucky sixth in the Group One Cox Plate (2040m).

In the first two appearances of her autumn campaign, Aeliana was runner-up behind her undefeated stablemate Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) in the Group Two Apollo Stakes (1400m) and Group One Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m). She got within a long neck of the emerging megastar in the Verry Elleegant.

There was no Autumn Glow, no Via Sistina and no Mr Brightside in the Ranvet Stakes on Saturday, and Aeliana claimed the second Group One prize that she richly deserved.

She was ridden by champion expat New Zealand jockey James McDonald, who brought her with a well-timed run from second-last. Her front-running stablemate Lindermann (Lonhro) provided plenty of resistance, but Aeliana clawed her way past and triumphed by a short neck.

“She's just incredible,” McDonald said. “Her tenacity to find the line was just superb. She’s been building to something like that, and I've got to give credit to the second horse, because they made us work. I was thinking, ‘This is not how the script's supposed to go.’

“Nash Rawiller is a genius when it comes to that. He just gets things on his own terms. It wasn't ideal, that's for sure, because he had a picnic up in front. But I was on a good horse and she deservedly won that one.”

That was a record-equalling 129th Group One victory for Kiwi-born McDonald, who drew alongside the great Damien Oliver. McDonald took sole ownership of the Australasian Group One record with another two victories later on the Rosehill card, lifting his total to 131.

Fellow expat New Zealander Waller was proud to see Aeliana claim another Group One win.

“She was made to fight for it today,” he said. “Lindermann is a good horse on his day, and I think Nash controlled the race really well. Aeliana had to be good to win. It was a good fight between the stablemates and a great spectacle.”

Waller will consider backing Aeliana up in next Saturday’s A$1.5m Group One Tancred Stakes (2400m).

“We’ll see, but the distance would be no problem,” he said. “A seven-day back-up isn’t ideal. We’ll see how things go, see where some of the others are heading and then try to map it all out.”

Vendor	Rich Hill Stud
Purchaser	Star Thoroughbreds (New South Wales)
Breeding	Castelvecchio – Temolie
Sale	Lot 582, Karaka 2023 Book 1, $180,000
Breeder	Nearco Stud Ltd & Rich Hill Thoroughbreds Ltd
Owner	Star Thoroughbreds Pty Ltd, Boeara Holdings, Mrs A M Howlett, Mrs K A Pailthorpe, Felgate Holdings, Paramount Racing, Mr R B T Aurisch, Mrs D M Handley, Mr W A Smith, Mr B K Hudson, EST JA Hudson, Forbson Group