Elite Field for gavelhouse.com New Zealand 1000 Guineas
14 November 2018
The 2018-19 New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series goes up to Group 1 level for the first time on Saturday with the second leg, the $300,000 gavelhouse.com 46th New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton.
A shake-up of the leaderboard is guaranteed, with 12 points available to the winner and the early leader Avantage (Fastnet Rock) bypassing the race.
Xpression (NZ) (Showcasing), who is second on the table with 3 points, has won three of her five starts including the Group 2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1200m) and a last-start victory in the Group 3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m).
Melt (NZ) (Iffraaj) won the Group 3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) earlier this season, then ran second to the subsequent Group 1 winner Madison County (NZ) (Pins) in the Group 2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m).
Media Sensation (I Am Invincible) was an impressive last-start winner of the Group 3 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m), while four others in the field are black-type winners or placegetters.
In addition to the 12 points for the winner, the runner-up in the gavelhouse.com New Zealand 1000 Guineas will receive 7 points and the third placegetter 3.5 points.
The gavelhouse.com 46th New Zealand 1000 Guineas will be run as Race 7 on Saturday with a start time of 3.10pm.
| # | Horse | Draw | Comments | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1 | Melt | 3 | Iffraaj filly Melt (NZ) won two stakes races last season and was Group 1-placed in the Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m). She has been highly impressive winning two of her three starts this spring, including the Group 3 Northland Breeders' Stakes (1200m), and she was a last-start second to top male three-year-old Madison County (NZ) (Pins) in the Group 2 Hawke's Bay Guineas (1400m). | Nigel Tiley | Sam Spratt |
| 2 | Xpression | 2 | Bred and part-owned by Haunui Bloodstock Ltd, Xpression (NZ) (Showcasing) has made a big impression in her short career to date. Her three wins from five starts include last season's Group 2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1200m) and last month's Group 3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m). She has earned 3 Filly of the Year Series points, having finished second in the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) in September. | Guy Lowry & Grant Cullen | Samantha Collett |
| 3 | Media Sensation | 6 | After dominant victories in both of her appearances last season, Media Sensation (I Am Invincible) has added another two victories this spring including last month's Group 3 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m). | Peter & Dawn Williams | Michael Coleman |
| 4 | Emily Margaret | 4 | Emily Margaret (Pins) won the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton in September and has encountered bad luck in both subsequent starts, finishing third in the Guineas Trial (1400m) and sixth in the Listed Zacinto Stakes (1600m). | Kevin & Pam Hughes | Lisa Allpress |
| 5 | Secret Allure | 14 | Zacinto filly Secret Allure (NZ) won the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton as a two-year-old, and she has been placed in two of her three starts this season. She overcame a slow start for a close second at Awapuni last start. | Lisa Latta | Rosie Myers |
| 6 | Mohaka | 1 | Mohaka (NZ) (Nadeem) may still be a maiden, but she has placed in all of her four starts including two at stakes level. Her last start was in the Listed Zacinto Stakes (1600m), over the same course and distance as this race, and she was a fast-finishing third. | Guy Lowry & Grant Cullen | Jake Bayliss |
| 7 | Wekaforce | 11 | Another daughter of Showcasing, Wekaforce (NZ) won on debut last season and has been placed in two starts since then including the Canterbury Belle Stakes. She was a last-start fourth in the Barneswood Farm Stakes. | Tony Pike | Danielle Johnson |
| 8 | Valalie | 7 | Well-related filly Valalie (Snitzel) has won once in her six-start career and has been fourth in two Group races, including a late-finishing effort in the Soliloquy Stakes at Ellerslie last month. | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | Matt Cameron |
| 9 | Easy M'Lady | 13 | Easy M'Lady (NZ) (Super Easy) has had just three starts, winning easily on debut and finishing fifth and third in two subsequent appearances. This is her first start at stakes level. | Vicki Prendergast | Reese Jones |
| 10 | Beam Of Light | 9 | Beam Of Light (NZ) (Power) scored an impressive debut win in January, and her black-type starts have produced a sixth in the O'Learys Fillies' Stakes (1200m) and seventh in the Gold Trail Stakes. | Team Rogerson | |
| 11 | Dreamtesta | 10 | Testa Rossa filly Dreamtesta (NZ) is a maiden who has placed twice in her five starts, and she was a last-start fifth in the Zacinto Stakes. | Neill Ridley | Terry Moseley |
| 12 | Imelda Mary | 12 | Ferlax filly Imelda Mary (NZ) has yet to win in 10 starts, but she has placed four times and was a close ninth in last season's Karaka Million (1200m). | Wayne Hillis | Cameron Lammas |
| 13 | Miss Curious | 8 | Miss Curious (NZ) (Nom du Jeu) has had seven starts for one third placing, and she finished seventh after a tough run in last month's Zacinto Stakes. | Danny Frye | Chris Johnson |
| 14 | Extrememiss | 5 | Extrememiss (NZ), by Cape Blanco out of Group 1-winning mare Ekstreme (NZ) (Ekraar), has had four starts for two fourths and a last-start 10th in the Zacinto Stakes. | Bryce Revell | Jason Laking |