Group One Glory for He’s A Doozy (NZ)

A breakthrough 2022-23 season just keeps getting better and better for He’s A Doozy (NZ) (Zacinto), who scored his first Group One triumph in Saturday’s $300,000 Harcourts Thorndon Mile (1600m) at Trentham. 

Bought by trainer Lisa Latta for only $70,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2019, He’s A Doozy has now earned more than $477,000 from a 22-start career that has produced eight wins and four second placings.

The five-year-old scored his first stakes win in the Group Three Thompson Handicap (1600m) at Trentham in October, and he picked up another victory at the same level in the rich $250,000 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) at Riccarton in November. But this one easily tops them both.

Ridden by Kozzi Asano, He’s A Doozy settled in third spot before saving valuable ground as the field fanned wide coming around the home turn. He took the lead at the top of the straight, and despite being pushed hard all the way by star three-year-old Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) (Redwood), he refused to relinquish his advantage and took the race by three-quarters of a length.

“A big thanks to Lisa and the owners, who have kept me on the horse,” Asano said. “In very tough conditions, the horse has gone super.

“Everyone wanted to be wide, and I was worried that he might not handle the ground. But he travelled well throughout the race, and at the top of the straight Lisa had told me I had to be right there.

“I was right there and I couldn’t believe it. Full credit to the horse – he brought me to the line first. You never know when a horse is going to wake up and start flying, and this horse has done a tremendous job and is such a nice horse.”

Latta trains He’s A Doozy at her Awapuni base for a 15-strong ownership group.

“It was a great ride by Kozzi,” Latta said. “We were very concerned about the inside barrier draw. He managed to get a lovely trip, and I said to him the horse has got a little bit dour in his work because he is looking for 2000 metres, so have him right there turning in, and that is exactly what he did.

“He has a fantastic group of owners in a big syndicate, a lot of fun and it’s great to be involved.”

He’s A Doozy was bred by the Dennis Brothers and comes from their iconic family. His dam is a three-quarter-sister to multiple Group One winner and star broodmare The Jewel (NZ) (O’Reilly), and his pedigree page also features superstars The Phantom (NZ) (Noble Bijou), The Phantom Chance (NZ) (Noble Bijou) and more than a dozen other stakes winners with the ‘The’ prefix.

He’s A Doozy headed a New Zealand Bloodstock trifecta in the Thorndon Mile. Runner-up Sharp ‘N’ Smart was bought for $55,000 from Karaka 2021 and has now earned more than $2.1 million in stakes, while the third-placed Lightning Jack (NZ) (Per Incanto) cost only $8000 at the 2018 Karaka May Sale and has banked $325,713.

Vendor	Phoenix Park
Purchaser	Lisa Latta Racing (Manawatu)
Breeding	Zacinto – The Dewdrop
Sale	Lot 466, Karaka 2019 Book 1, $70,000
Bred by	A G, K J, M C & P R Dennis