First-Start Winners Take Prominent Positions in Karaka Millions 2YO Order of Entry

A pair of impressive debut performances over the last few days have caused some movement at the top of the order of entry for the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). 

Until Wednesday of last week, last month’s smart Otaki winner De Armas (NZ) (Ardrossan) held a clear lead on the order of entry with earnings of $23,000. She now sits in equal second place alongside Midnight Dart (NZ) (Derryn), who burst on to the scene at Trentham over the weekend.

The Lisa Latta-trained Midnight Dart finished strongly from off the pace to win the $40,000 Rat Tat 2YO Plate (800m) on Saturday, earning $23,000.

Midnight Dart has already surpassed the $20,000 that Latta’s son Josh Herd paid to buy the colt from Grangewilliam Stud’s Book 2 draft at Karaka 2025.

“He’s a true-blue little professional racehorse,” Latta said. “This is a great story. My son Josh bought the horse from the sales at Karaka and syndicated him out. He’s got a lot of people involved, which is great. There are a lot of small shares and heaps of young people. It’s just fantastic.

“This little horse has done everything right. He had one trial last month, and then he went really well in the Levin jumpouts two weeks ago and was narrowly beaten there.

“We bought him with a dream of getting him to the Karaka Millions for these young owners, so that’s the goal and we’ll work our way backwards from there.”

Latta won the Karaka Millions 2YO with Fort Lincoln (Charge Forward) in 2011, then picked up a second placing with Showmeyamoneyhoney (NZ) (Showcasing) in 2016.

While Midnight Dart and De Armas are the early leaders among New Zealand’s domestic two-year-olds on the road to the Karaka Millions, the top spot on the order of entry now belongs to a filly in Australia.

Torture (NZ) (Sword Of State) earned A$120,750 with an impressive first-start victory in the Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield last Wednesday.

The exciting filly comes from the first crop of Cambridge Stud stallion Sword Of State, whose first yearlings averaged $201,500 in Book 1 of Karaka 2025 earlier this year. Torture is a half-sister to the Group One Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) winner Ruthless Dame (NZ) (Tavistock).

Curraghmore offered Torture in Book 1 of Karaka 2025, where she was bought by Lindsay Park Racing and Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock for $250,000.

It remains to be seen whether Torture will make the trip back to this side of the Tasman for the Karaka Millions, but her trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes contested the race with Hello Romeo (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) last season.

“To get some black type with a filly is always important, and I thought she won very well,” Ben Hayes said on Wednesday.

“She loomed into it and hit the front and did everything right, so it’s a big thrill for the whole team. Two-year-olds are something that we really enjoy doing.

“She is well-bred and now a stakes winner, so there are a couple of big ticks there and she is a beautiful looking horse with much more improvement to come, which is exciting.”

This weekend provides three valuable opportunities for New Zealand’s juveniles to secure prize-money in the race to the Karaka Millions. Ellerslie has an 1100-metre race on Saturday worth $45,000, Riccarton’s meeting on the same day features the $40,000 Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series 2YO over 800 metres, and Trentham will stage a 900-metre race for a $40,000 stake on Sunday.

The 2026 Karaka Millions 2YO will be run at Ellerslie on January 24, as part of a star-studded twilight card that also features the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), the $700,000 Group One Sistema Railway (1200m), the $1m Group Three Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m), the $250,000 Group Three Almanzor Trophy (1200m) and the $100,000 Jo Giles Stakes (1400m).

Karaka Millions night serves as the perfect curtain-raiser for the 100th edition of the New Zealand National Yearling Sale, which gets underway the following day. Book 1 of Karaka 2026 takes place on January 25 and 26, followed by Book 2 on January 27 and the new Karaka Summer Sale on January 29. View the order of entry for the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO here.