Chicharita (NZ) Oaks Bound

A storming run down the Ellerslie straight has seen Chicharita (NZ) cast her name into Oaks contention with a big win in the $100,000 Group 2 New Zealand Bloodstock Royal Stakes (2000m).

Trained by Michael Moroney & Andrew Clarken and ridden by jockey Chad Ormsby, Chicharita (Towkay x Trisynd) made her debut in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series and took eight points with her win, sending her straight to third place in the Series.

A lightly raced filly, the daughter of Towkay came into the race off the back of a victory in the Dunstan Feeds Championship Mile on the same track in early December and ran fifth in the Group 3 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes (1400m) in late October.

The filly is the 11th stakes winner for her sire Towkay who stands at Little Avondale Stud and will have her shot at Group 1 level as she is being aimed at the New Zealand Oaks, with the Australian Oaks also pencilled in.

Bred and raced by Suncroft Bloodstock, Chicharita has now won three of her six starts for over $70,000 in stakes.

Running second on the slow track was Our Famous Eve (Fast 'n' Famous) who was only half-a-length from the winner. She held her form having won back-to-back races coming into the Group 2 and takes four points in the Series.

Running third was the blue-blood filly Joy's Choice (Redoute's Choice) who earned two points from her wide barrier of 11, her first in the Series, after being unplaced in the Group 3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m).

To view the current points table in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, click here. The next race in the Series, the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes, will be held at Trentham on January 28.