Karaka Graduate Bonneval (NZ) Completes Oaks Double

Star filly Bonneval (NZ) (Makfi), who sold for $150,000 at the 2015 Premier Sale at Karaka, became the first filly since 1990 to win the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks-Australian Oaks double when she ran away with the A$1 million Randwick fillies’ classic on Saturday.

Trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, who won the previous weekend’s Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m) with fellow Karaka graduate Jon Snow (NZ) (Iffraaj), Bonneval had won stakes races in all of her three previous starts and was a highly respected equal favourite for Saturday’s 2400-metre race.

She had a huge amount of ground to make up as the widely strung-out field rounded the home turn, but Bonneval produced a supreme turn of foot to reel in the leaders and streak away to win by four and a half lengths.

It was the second year in a row that a Karaka graduate has won the Australian Oaks, with $65,000 Select Sale purchase Sofia Rosa (NZ) (Makfi) winning it last year. Both were offered at Karaka by Westbury Stud. Both Sofia Rosa and Bonneval were ridden by champion Australian rider Hugh Bowman.

“This is my fourth Australian Oaks now and my third one aboard a New Zealand filly,” Bowman said.

“I went and worked her on Tuesday morning, it wasn’t so much the feel that she gave me that excited me, it was just the way she looked in her coat, the way she went about her business.

“I was humming on the turn, but I did have a good 150 metres to make up, and I don’t care what level you are at, that’s hard to do. She had it made up by the 100-metre mark and I could enjoy the ride with everyone else for the last few strides.”

Bonneval has now had eight starts for five wins, one placing and more than $1 million in prize-money for her owners Alister Lawrence, John Rattray and Terry Jarvis. Prior to her Group 1 Oaks double, she won the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic (2000m) and Group 3 Lowland Stakes (2100m).

“They were going pretty hard up front and it is hard to keep going at that pace, I knew she would stay,” Baker said. “I hope she might be a weight for age horse and we will have to have a look at something for her in the spring maybe, it’s a long way away.”

Bonneval was bred by Peter Newsom, Tony Wales and Mac Whiteman’s City Bloodstock Ltd. She is out of the Zabeel mare Imposingly, who is also the dam of Group winners Imposing Lass (NZ) (Makfi), Full of Spirit (Flying Spur) and Lady Cumquat (Duke of Marmalade).

Offered by Westbury Stud at the 2015 Premier Sale, Bonneval was bought for $150,000 by Baker Racing.