Fifth Stakes Victory for Need I Say More

He saves his best for raceday, but that best form has been good enough for Karaka graduate Need I Say More (No Nay Never) to land five super-impressive stakes victories in an eight-start career. 

Bought for $130,000 by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis from Kilgravin Lodge’s draft at Book 1 of Karaka 2019, Need I Say More delivered again in Sunday’s $67,000 Listed FastTrack Mufhasa Stakes (1300m) at Ellerslie. It was the chestnut gelding’s sixth win overall, and he has amassed $229,780 in stakes for the Te Akau Never Say Die Syndicate.

Those six victories also include the Group Three Waikato Stud Slipper (1200m) as a two-year-old, followed by three-year-old triumphs in this season’s Group Three Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m), Group Two Sarten Memorial (1400m), and the Group Three Almanzor Trophy (1200m).

“He’s a quality horse who sneaks under the radar a little at home, because he doesn’t put a lot of enthusiasm into his work,” trainer Jamie Richards said. “He ran last at the trials at Pukekohe the other day, but that’s just him. He turns up on raceday.

“He’s a promising horse who has put together a good record so far.”

Ridden on Sunday by Opie Bosson, Need I Say More produced a sustained finish from midfield to run down the flying front-running filly Babylon Berlin (All Too Hard), passing that rival inside the last 100 metres and scoring by three-quarters of a length.

“It was a lovely ride by Opie,” Richards said. “He didn’t panic when Sam Collett put a bit of a break on him on Babylon Berlin, and the horse ground away nicely over the last little bit.

“He will go to the Wellington Guineas (Group Two, 1400m) at Trentham in a fortnight.”