Dual-Code Horseman Hits Mega Maiden Bonus at Matamata

With NZB preparing to stage both thoroughbred and standardbred weanling sales on the same day at Karaka in late June, a dual-code horseman chose an appropriate time to play a starring role in the $17,000 NZB Mega Maiden Series (1200m) at Matamata on Thursday.

The race was won by Our Beau (NZ) (Tivaci), who is trained and part-owned by harness racing great Mark Purdon. Purdon has only two thoroughbreds in work, and both are now winners. Our Beau’s stablemate Buster Shaw (NZ) (War Decree) was a winner at Ellerslie on April 5.

“I’m still learning,” Purdon said about his thoroughbred venture earlier this month. “I’ve had a lot of help with some of the trainers at Matamata. I have to make mention of Andrew Scott and Lance O’Sullivan, who have been really good to me. That’s been a big help.

“I’ve just got the two gallopers in work. I might have wanted to grow the stable if I was younger, but I’ve left my run a bit late. But I’m enjoying my hobby.”

Our Beau and Purdon struck a lucrative NZB Mega Maiden Series bonus with their win on Thursday. The Mega Maiden Series is an exciting new initiative created by NZB in partnership with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and Entain. When a Mega Maiden Series race is won by a horse that is Karaka Millions eligible, their owners earn another $20,000 and the trainer picks up a $5,000 bonus.

Thursday’s maiden race at Matamata was the third career start for Our Beau, who had finished fifth in both of his previous appearances. In the most recent of those, the three-year-old produced an eye-catching late finish to get within three and a half lengths of the winner in a 1050-metre race at Matamata on March 12.

The step up to 1200 metres on Thursday proved to be ideal for Our Beau, who finished strongly out of the pack in the straight and swept past the favourite The Perfect One (Capitalist). Our Beau went on to win by three-quarters of a length with apprentice jockey Niranjan Parmar in the saddle.

Our Beau’s three-race career has now produced a win and $11,145 in stakes, along with the $25,000 Mega Maiden Series bonus.

The Mega Maiden Series is open to all horses eligible for the Karaka Millions Series, with a total of $1m in bonuses up for grabs across 40 non-Saturday maiden races each season for the next three years.

The next race in the 2024/25 edition of the series is the $17,000 NZB Mega Maiden Series (2100m) at Waverley on Monday.

In an exciting move, NZB’s National Weanling Sale will be held on the same day as the National Standardbred Weanling Sale at Karaka on Thursday 26 June. The joint sale date will see the thoroughbred session get underway in the morning, with the standardbred weanlings selling later that afternoon.

Vendor	Woburn Farm
Purchaser	All Stars Racing Stables (Canterbury)
Breeding	Tivaci – Savanite
Sale	Lot 485, Karaka 2023 Book 1, $80,000
Breeder	Bella Vinci Ltd
Owner	M Purdon & D Zavitanos