Historic NZB Kiwi Triumph for Damask Rose

The tangerine colours of Te Akau Racing backed up their $1.5 million Listed Karaka Millions win on Saturday when they captured the country's richest ever horse race.

Te Akau won the inaugural $3.5m NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie with star filly Damask Rose (NZ) (Savabeel), who was bought by David Ellis for $200,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2023. She has now had seven starts for four wins, two placings and $2.23m in stakes.

Damask Rose represented Te Akau's own slot in the NZB Kiwi. She went into the race as a proven big-race performer at Ellerslie, having run second in last year's $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) before returning a year later and going one better in the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m).

The NZB Kiwi was Damask Rose's first start since that Karaka Millions triumph in January, and with brilliant performances from the filly and her jockey Blake Shinn, she came out on top again.

Damask Rose was slow to leave the starting gates and dropped out to a clear last for most of the race, sitting three lengths behind the second-last horse. But Shinn decided to stick to the inside in the straight and drove her through along the rail, bursting to the lead inside the final 200 metres and winning by a length and a half.

“She was a bit slow at the start, so we had to go to Plan B and ride her a bit quiet,” Shinn said. “Fortunately the speed was on.

“I was contemplating coming wide, but the way the race set up, I had to look for inside runs, which came and she was good enough to capitalise on them.

“She is a really good horse. We won the Karaka Millions 3YO, and it is really special to win the inaugural running of this race for Te Akau.

“She has an electric turn of foot, a real desire to take the gaps and savage the line. The pressure was starting to tell up against the rails, but she pinned her ears back.

“I’m just delighted. This means a lot. I have struck up a great relationship with Te Akau Racing, they are a big family unit and this is what it is all about for them.”

Damask Rose is trained by the premiership-leading partnership of Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Bergerson said. “I said to Mark when we saw her flop out the back that she was going to have to be good from there.

“Fair play to Blake. He was very patient and the filly was so game. When she shot through, we were all up on our feet.

“She has just kept improving. We had earmarked her for our slot early on, and we’re so thankful it has come off. I was a bag of nerves all week and there are so many people to thank. I’m just so grateful.”

Evaporate (NZ) (Per Incanto) ran second for slot-holders the TAB, while the Wexford Stables slot came in third with their own runner Checkmate (NZ) (Mongolian Khan).

Damask Rose capped a remarkable double for her dam Sombreuil (Fastnet Rock) and breeder Tony Rider’s Milan Park. Earlier on Saturday’s Ellerslie card, Damask Rose’s older full-sister Provence (NZ) (Savabeel) won the $600,000 Group One New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m).

Vendor	Milan Park
Purchaser	Mr DC Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) (Te Akau)
Breeding	Savabeel – Sombreuil
Sale	Lot 534, Karaka 2023 Book 1, $200,000
Bred by	T V Rider