Battle for the 2013 Karaka Million Begins

It may be early days but the Order of Entry for the 2013 $1 million Karaka Million (Res.L) is underway with Dancer's Tale winning the first two-year-old race of the season.

The Order of Entry for the 2013 Karaka Million – New Zealand’s richest race – is determined by prize money won, with Dancer’s Tale collecting $7,810 on Saturday and the early lead on the board.

The opening race at Saturday’s Wanganui meeting, the $12,500 94.4 The Sound 800, drew a field of seven two-year-olds, six of which are nominated for the 2013 Karaka Million and are in the early hunt for valuable stakes earnings.

In the first leg of a winning double at the meeting for trainers Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman, Dancer's Tale (Tale of the Cat x Pineau) raced prominently in the straight and produced a late turn-of-foot in the final 100 metres to defeat fellow Karaka graduate Precious Sophia (Cecconi x Gypsy Jewels) by a short head.

Raced by Challenge Racehorse Syndications, Dancer's Tale’s win has given her $7,810 in stakes, with Precious Sophia taking home $2,500 and third placed Terse (Any Suggestion x Aggressive) $1,250.

Dancer's Tale was bred by Graham & Helen-Gaye Bax and Go Bloodstock New Zealand and was purchased by Adrian Clark’s Challenge Racehorse Syndications from Blandford Lodge for $65,000 at the 2012 Karaka Select Sale.

The $1 million Karaka Million is a two-year-old incentive race for graduates of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales. Held at Ellerslie Racecourse on the eve of the National Yearling Sales on 27 January, the Karaka Million is New Zealand’s richest race and is a 1200 metre contest carrying Restricted Listed status.

For more information on the Karaka Million including the Order of Entry and a list of the nominated two-year-olds, click here.