Cork (NZ) Secures Valuable Black Type in Classic

Previously a two-time second placegetter at stakes level, Cork (NZ) (Complacent) broke through for the biggest win of her career in Saturday’s $80,000 Listed Team Wealleans Tauranga Classic (1600m).

Cork was a $30,000 purchase by Paul Moroney Bloodstock and Ballymore Stables NZ from the Book 2 draft of breeders Blandford Lodge at Karaka 2019. She is now the winner of six of her 27 starts, placing on another five occasions and earning $188,068 in prize-money.

Until Saturday, a black-type victory was the one thing missing from Cork’s CV. She had been runner-up in the Group Three Winter Cup (1600m) in 2023 and Listed Opunake Cup (1400m) in 2022, and she had also been close up in sixth and seventh in two editions of the Group Three Metric Mile (1600m). Now the patience of her connections has been richly rewarded with a Tauranga Classic breakthrough.

After racing in midfield, jockey Samantha Collett angled Cork out into the better ground out wide in the home straight. She worked through her gears and drew up alongside the leader Lux Libertas (NZ) (Almanzor), edging ahead in the final 50 metres to win by half a length.

“She’s a great little mare,” trainer Pam Gerard said. “She’s been all over the country and just keeps giving us a thrill every time. We know that she’s very hard to beat when she’s fresh up over 1400 metres at Tauranga. We were obviously up against some good mares today, but she’s been unlucky in this race a couple of times before.

“I’m really stoked for the owners. We’ve been trying to get that black type for so long, and finally we’ve got it today.

“Her work had been super leading into this. We’re lucky we got a very heavy track today, which she absolutely loves.

“It’s always hard taking on seasoned horses fresh up in these testing conditions, but I know what she can do and I was pretty confident she could be in the first three anyway.”

Cork’s performance made a big impression on Collett, who has recently returned to New Zealand after an extended stint in Queensland.

“It’s fantastic,” she said. “This mare’s work had been very good during the week and she toughed it out so well today.

“Pam and her team have done a super job. She presented in great order.

“I had to work on her a long way out, but I was able to find the fast strip in the straight and she was the toughest one there. She really gave me everything she had.”

Vendor	Blandford Lodge
Purchaser	Paul Moroney Bloodstock/Ballymore Stables NZ (Waikato)
Breeding	Complacent – Little Bit Irish
Sale	Lot 792, Karaka 2019 Book 2, $30,000
Breeder	W G & H G Bax
Owner	Dame Sian Elias, E T & H A Fletcher & N E Walker