Deane Martin Singing in the Karaka Stayers Cup

The inaugural $100,000 The Westbury Karaka Stayers Cup was run and won yesterday evening with Deane Martin (NZ) (Keeper) triumphant in the 2200m event at Ellerslie at the Karaka Million Twilight Meeting.

Deane Martin (NZ) triumphant in the inaugural Westbury Karaka Stayers Cup.

Trained by Bruce Wallace, the son of Keeper entered the race as a winner two starts ago at Te Rapa and had the services of star Australian jockey Tommy Berry.

Berry was at his very best on Deane Martin even after being posted wide early in the staying event. The pair were caught wide early in the race from barrier 13 and Berry elected to move forward to sit outside the leader as the field worked down the back straight.

The move proved to be a winning one as Deane Martin always appeared to be travelling the best at the top of the Ellerslie straight. When Berry asked his mount for an effort he responded and dashed away from the field to win by 1.5 lengths over Lion Red (NZ) (Fast ‘n’ Famous), who charged home along the rail, with Her to Eternity (NZ) (Pentire) a further half-a-length away in third.

“We are just rapt,” stated Wallace. “It was good to have a winner on the night and we had all the owners there so that was even more pleasing.

“I thought it was a great ride from Tommy Berry. We were a bit worried going down the back when he was three-wide but he just let him relax which was a big thing.

“The key was when he came up beside the leader, instead of taking a sit he just let him roll forward. At that stage I thought ‘what are we doing here’, but then I saw how relaxed the horse was, he had his ears pricked, if he grabbed him he may have worked against him so I thought that was the real key.

“After being scratched out of the Dunstan Championship Final we couldn’t find anything wrong with him and neither could the vets. It has all worked out though, we have gone a different way and now that he has won that race we are back on track for the Auckland Cup.”

It was the biggest payday of Deane Martin’s career, taking his earnings to $124,550 for his owners that including former cricketer and now commentator Simon Doull along with G J Ashby, A D Burrett, P Hay, R J Limbrick, J H Martin, C Morgan, A C Peard, B J Wallace & D West.

Bred by Sir Patrick & Lady Hogan of Cambridge Stud, Deane Martin is out of Ela Nimue (Zabeel), a daughter of the great sire and broodmare sire Zabeel and out of dual Group 1 winner Nimue (Star Way). Zabeel was the leading broodmare sire in New Zealand and Australia last season. There are 37 Lots at the Karaka Premier Sale out of Zabeel mares.

The connections were able to take full advantage of the conditions of the race with Deane Martin being a graduate of the 2011 Karaka Premier Sale where he was passed in by Cambridge Stud. The inaugural running of the Karaka Stayers Cup was open to all New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales Series graduates – passed in or sold – not just horses entered in the Karaka Million Race Series.

From 2018 horses will need to be nominated for the Karaka Million Race Series to enter the Karaka Stayers Cup from this year. The current crop of yearlings that will be sold at Karaka this week will be five-year-olds in 2018 when the race goes exclusive.

Nominations for the 2014 Karaka Million Race Series close on Tuesday 5 March 2014 at 5pm with the NZ$1,750 + GST entry fee per horse.