Illicit Dreams (NZ) Hits New Heights in Autumn Campaign

After showing bright promise in the spring, highly talented two-year-old Illicit Dreams (NZ) (Vancouver) has come back even better in the autumn and claimed a valuable black-type win.

Bought for $30,000 from Book 2 of Karaka 2022, the flying filly ran her rivals off their feet in Saturday’s $65,000 Listed Berkley Stud Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton. She became the first stakes winner in New Zealand for her Golden Slipper-winning sire Vancouver, and her five-start career has now produced two wins, a placing and $50,615 in stakes.

Illicit Dreams was bought at Karaka 2022 by Ruakaka-based trainers Kenny Rae and Krystal Williams. The filly made three starts in the spring, finishing second on debut before venturing south to Christchurch for a fourth and an unplaced finish in the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m).

But then Rae and Williams sent her out for a summer spell, and she has returned in flawless form. She scored a first-up win at Ruakaka on April 12, where the third-placed Loch Katrine (NZ) (Ardrossan) went on to win a stakes race at her next start.

That home-track victory put Illicit Dreams on course for a return to Christchurch, and this time it went very differently.

Sent forward from her inside gate by jockey Tegan Newman, Illicit Dreams raced up on the pace throughout Saturday’s race. She threw down the gauntlet to her opposition at the top of the straight, producing a powerful kick and moving two lengths clear.

The favoured pair Penvose Lad (U S Navy Flag) and Cu Chulainn (NZ) (Burgundy) tried hard to reel her in, but Illicit Dreams was determined to cling on to her advantage. She held out a late lunge by Penvose Lad and scored by a short head.

“This filly has always shown some ability, but I made a mistake early on with her, which could have cost us,” Rae told NZ Racing Desk. “I travelled her down here after she ran second on debut, and it may have been a little too much for her.

“We took her home and put her away, and when we brought her back last month, we put the blinkers on and boy, did they do the job. She blew them away at home, and then she has done the same today.

“That trip down here did have some benefit – she thinks this is her home away from home, and she loved it out there and performed accordingly.

“She can go home and have a few days off after this one. There is a nice series of races coming up at Ruakaka over the winter, so we can pick and choose our targets.

“I think she is going to be even better as a three-year-old, so there is no need to get carried away now.”

Runner-up Penvose Lad is also a Karaka graduate, bought for $80,000 by Champagne Racing from Book 1 of Karaka 2022. He has had three starts for a win and two placings, earning $34,825 so far.

Vendor	Westbury Stud
Purchaser	Rae Racing (Northland)
Breeding	Vancouver – Illicit Romance
Sale	Lot 861, Karaka 2022 Book 2, $30,000
Bred by	G Harvey

 

Race Day Photo: Race Images South