Karaka Graduates Shine at NZ Horse of the Year Awards

A season of extraordinary racetrack success for Karaka graduates was recognised with a flurry of trophies at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards at Auckland’s Langham Hotel on Sunday night.

For the second year in a row, the Horse of the Year was Mongolian Khan (Holy Roman Emperor). Owned by the Inner Mongolia Rider Horse Club and trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, the four-year-old scored a brilliant win against an international field in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup in October. He became the first New Zealand-trained winner of the race since the great Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm) in 2001.

The Caulfield Cup triumph also earned Mongolian Khan the title of Champion Stayer.

Bred by Grenville Stud in Tasmania, Mongolian Khan was offered by Ainsley Downs Stud at the 2013 Select Sale where he was purchased for $140,000 by Waikato Bloodstock. He returned to Karaka later that year in Regal Farm’s draft for the Ready to Run Sale, where Rider Horse purchased him for $220,000.

Mongolian Khan has now retired from racing and will take up stud duties this spring at Windsor Park Stud. He ended his career with a record of 17 starts for eight wins and more than NZ$4 million in stakes. As a three-year-old he won the Group 1 New Zealand Derby and Australian Derby, earning the awards for Champion Three-Year-Old, Champion Stayer and Horse of the Year. At Sunday’s dinner he lifted his awards tally to five.

His Baker and Forsman-trained stablemate Turn Me Loose (NZ) (Iffraaj) also enjoyed a sensational night as he claimed the Champion Sprinter and Champion Middle Distance titles. The four-year-old had a top-class season in Melbourne which included victories in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes, Group 1 Futurity Stakes and Group 2 Crystal Mile.

Turn Me Loose was bred by George and Maryanne Simon and is raced by Lindsay de Souza, Todd Hartley, Doug Painter, Paul Vawdrey, Jim Lark, Scott Brown and Jim Robertson. Hartley made the successful bid of $52,500 to secure him from the draft of Mana Park at the 2013 Ready to Run Sale.

Turn Me Loose has now had 15 starts for seven wins and more than $1.5 million in prize-money. He was also a multiple stakes winner in his three-year-old season, picking up the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas and Group 2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas.

Karaka graduates also swept the age-group honours. The Champion Two-Year-Old was Sacred Elixir (NZ) (Pour Moi), who was knocked down to Raffles Racing and Mulcaster Bloodstock for $170,000 at the 2015 Premier Sale.

Trained by Tony Pike, Sacred Elixir won three races in the 2015-16 season including the Group 1 J J Atkins in Brisbane. He was the first New Zealand-trained horse to win the race since Darci Brahma (NZ) (Danehill) in 2005.

The Champion Three-Year-Old was Xtravagant (NZ) (Pentire), the younger full-brother to multiple stakes performer and stallion prospect He’s Remarkable (NZ) (Pentire).

Purchased by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis for $375,000 at the 2014 Premier Sale, Xtravagant is trained by premiership winners Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards. He won five races this season including the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas by eight and a half lengths, the Group 1 NRM Sprint – against older horses – by eight lengths, and the Group 3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes.

The New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year was Sofia Rosa (NZ) (Makfi), who won the Group 2 Royal Stakes and Group 3 Lowland Stakes and clinched the title with a second placing in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks. She then crossed the Tasman and won the Group 1 Australian Oaks in Sydney.

Sofia Rosa was purchased for $65,000 at the 2014 Select Sale, knocked down to Bruce Perry Bloodstock on behalf of prominent owner Lib Petagna.

Karaka graduates were an enormous contributor to Petagna’s win in the Owner of the Year category. His star performers this season included Sofia Rosa, the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Lucia Valentina (NZ) (Savabeel) and the stakes-performed juvenile Eleonora (NZ) (Makfi).

The Breeders of the Year were Cambridge Stud’s Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan, recognised for the feats of Group 1-winning Karaka graduates Tarzino (NZ) (Tavistock), Tavago (NZ) (Tavistock) and Preferment (NZ) (Zabeel).