Birchley Brilliance Again in Karaka Millions 2YO

Queensland trainer Liam Birchley is on top of the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) mountain again after Dream Roca (NZ) (El Roca) triumphed in the 19th running of the juvenile showpiece at Ellerslie on Saturday.

Birchley, who previously won the race with Sister Havana (NZ) (General Nediym) in 2010 and Hardline (NZ) (Showcasing) in 2015, paid $75,000 to buy Dream Roca from Westbury Stud’s Book 2 draft at Karaka 2025. A year later, she has won two of her three starts and more than $625,000 in stakes.

While the Karaka Millions-winning feeling is nothing new for Birchley, Saturday’s triumph – 11 years after his last – meant a great deal to the respected trainer.

“It’s tremendous to win this race three times,” he said. “I know how hard it is, I really do. The standard of two-year-olds here has improved markedly over the last 10 years.

“I’ve got a lot of really close friends in this horse, going back a long way. One of them has sadly just died in the last few weeks, so this means a lot.

“It’s all about buying an athlete. That’s what you need for this race. We were then lucky enough to draw barrier one, which saves you a lot of work. She was able to save her best for the end, which she needed.”

Dream Roca finished second on debut at Eagle Farm in October, then blew her rivals away by two lengths at the same venue on December 13. Ben Thompson was in the saddle for both of those races and had no hesitation in following her across the Tasman for Saturday’s big race at Ellerslie.

He played his part to perfection, giving Dream Roca a perfect run and presenting her at the right time for one last shot at the front-running longshot Magill (Farnan). That rival refused to lie down without a fight in a performance that defied his $105 odds, but Dream Roca clawed her way past to win by a long head.

“This is very surreal,” said Thompson, who was riding at Ellerslie for the first time on Saturday. “It’s an amazing track and I’m so lucky to be able to travel to places like this and do what I love.

“This is just a class filly. Credit to Liam Birchley, he’s a brilliant trainer. It just fills you with so much confidence when you’re riding for him, especially a two-year-old. It’s always great to partner up with him.

“The inside draw was ideal. She was absolutely coasting up to the first turn at the 100m, which gave me a bit of confidence, and I was just guided by her from there. I’ve ridden her in all her starts and I was confident in her.

“I just needed a bit of luck. But the track’s playing so fairly today that I just had to be patient and wait for a run. When it came, she gave me a great kick.”

Runner-up Magill was a $230,000 purchase by Game Lodge from Milan Park’s draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2025. He has had four starts for a win and a placing, earning $183,985.

The third placegetter was Torture (NZ) (Sword Of State), who was bought for $250,000 by Lindsay Park Racing and Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock from Book 1 of Karaka 2025. She has had three starts for a win, a placing and more than $222,000.

Vendor	Westbury Stud
Purchaser	Bloodstock Solutions (Queensland)
Breeding	El Roca – Petrachor
Sale	Lot 770, Karaka 2025 Book 2, $75,000
Breeder	G Harvey
Owner	P N Watson, Mackellar Syndicate, Mr P Fahey, J D Dougherty, Mrs A K Donoghue, S A George, C J George, M D Baker, R Baverstock, M R Gersekowski, P T Gersekowski, J R Joyce, R J King, Dr K P Stanton, S Murphy, C J Shannon, T R Bonello, S A Stewart, Mr C T Power & Mrs J M Power