Aussie Raider Targets Karaka Million

The Lee Freedman trained Chateauneuf Dupape has added his name to the list of horses set to contest the one million dollar Karaka Million at Ellerslie on Sunday evening.

The son of Darci Brahma is the only two-year-old making the journey across the Tasman for the million dollar feature, with the Mark Wallace trained Miss Confidential - targeting the Karaka 3YO Mile - the only other Australian raider.

With only three starts under his belt, Chateauneuf Dupape (Darci Brahma x Loudenne) ran a close third down the Flemington straight in the $70,000 Summer Hero Raceday Plate 2YO (1200m) on a dead track at his last start behind Redangelo (Testa Rossa).

Trainer Lee Freedman is hoping that Chateauneuf Dupape can produce another strong performace come Sunday.�

�"He's a very nice horse this colt, he has still got some growing to do but he has the frame of a good race horse and he is going well.

"He ran a very good race on Saturday, it was a bit of a sit and sprint but he really put his head down and made a fight of it. If there was a bit more pace in the race he probably would have won it so that was very encouraging.

"It's a daring move coming over on such short notice; he actually gets into NZ on Saturday night so it will be a quick turnaround from the plane to the track.

"With a bigger field there should be a bit more pace in the race than on Saturday which will suit him down to the ground. It's worth a lot of money this race and we aren't coming over for cabbage leaves, we want to win so we are hoping everything goes smoothly and he puts in another good performance."

The colt has drawn the ideal alley of barrier five for the Karaka Million.

"I haven't had a lot of luck with the barrier draws in NZ as of late with First Command drawing 24 in the Telegraph, so I'm very pleased with the draw, he should be able to work his way into a good spot from there which is ideal."

The colt was bought by BBA - Ireland from Pencarrow Stud in the 2010 Karaka Premier Sale for $310,000 and has earned his connections A$10,550 (NZ$13,813) in stakemoney to date.

Chateauneuf Dupape is one of two Darci Brahma colts in the Karaka Million, the other is the John Sargent trained Super Easy bought by Lee's brother Michael under the Blue Sky Thoroughbreds banner for Michael's client in Singapore.

The 2011 Karaka Million is set to jump at 7:13pm at the Auckland Racing Club's Ellerslie racecourse. It will be broadcast live into Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.� For tickets to the Karaka Million Twilight Meeting - including the fabulous Pimm's Garden Party on the Cuvee lawn - contact Gina Vuletich at Ellerslie: events1@ellerslie.co.nz.

The final field for the 2011 Karaka Million can be viewed on the NZB website. For more information on Sunday's meeting or the National Yearling Sales Series next week, please contact us at New Zealand Bloodstock.