Karaka Millions Countdown Kicks Off in Style

The first two-year-old races of the New Zealand season were run and won over the weekend, and both of the exciting winners have the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) in their sights.

De Armas (NZ) (Ardrossan) went straight to the top of the order of entry with $23,000 in stakes after scoring a dominant victory in Friday’s $40,000 Vets On Riverbank 2YO (800m) at Otaki.

The locally trained filly proved to be a class above her rivals in the three-horse field, clearing out to win by four and three-quarter lengths. She had previously won her only trial by a whopping 10 lengths.

De Armas was offered by Elsdon Park in the 2025 National Online Yearling Sale, where Benner Racing bought her for $16,000.

Trainer Johno Benner knows what it takes to win a Karaka Millions 2YO. He landed the big prize in 2014 with that season’s champion two-year-old Vespa (NZ) (Elusive City), and he has also picked up placings with Touche (NZ) (Thorn Park) and Kingsman (NZ) (Darci Brahma).

“De Armas was very good today,” Benner told the Love Racing News Desk on Friday. “She has done a lot in a short time. She is definitely pretty smart.

“She has always shown plenty, although it’s hard to line up the trial form. She definitely showed what we hoped she would today, and she has the action of a filly that is going to appreciate a bit of a drier surface and a bit more distance. It is all looking positive.

“She has got above average ability, but she has also got a very good brain, which helps these young ones go a long way.

“I was rapt to get her for $16,000, and being a filly, there are a lot of upsides to that. I am glad I kept hitting bid.”

Benner believes Friday’s first-up success has taken away a lot of the pressure when it comes to plotting a path towards the Karaka Millions 2YO at Ellerslie on January 24.

“Something that I have learned over the years is that if you are chasing a place in the Karaka Millions field, you’re probably doing the wrong thing,” he said. “That means they are either not good enough to be there or you are pushing a horse that shouldn’t be pushed. The good ones take care of it for you.

“$23,000 should get her in. We have obviously got a fair bit of water to go under the bridge before January, but it is a good start.

“She is going straight to the paddock now and she will have a few weeks off. All going well, she will target the Wakefield (Group Two, 1200m) at Awapuni on December 20. We will possibly look at one more run at Ellerslie before the Millions, but we will just take it as it comes.

“I think she’s up there with Vespa, and we have thought that for a while, just on natural ability.

“I feel the Karaka Millions is a lot harder now, because I think the competition is a lot stiffer than it was back in 2014 for obvious reasons – Te Akau being one of them. You have got to have a serious horse to compete, but she definitely ticks a lot of the boxes that are required.”

The following day at Riccarton, eight-time Karaka Millions 2YO winners Te Akau Racing launched their attack on the 2026 edition of New Zealand's richest two-year-old race.

Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson saddled Out Of The Blue (NZ) (Tivaci) for a slick front-running debut victory in Saturday’s $25,000 Nobby Bussell Memorial 2YO (800m).

The son of Tivaci was bought by David Ellis for $60,000 from Waikato Stud’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2025. Saturday’s win secured the gelding $14,375 in prize-money and second place on the Karaka Millions order of entry.

“It was a terrific win today,” Walker said on Saturday. “He’s a horse that Dave (Ellis) bought cheaply out of the Book 1 Sale at Karaka, and Julia-Rose has introduced so many new owners, so they’ll be very excited. 

“His dam Cornflower Blue (NZ) (Savabeel) was a really good filly that we trained for Waikato Stud, so the stable knew her well. All of our buying team thought this horse was really worth a punt to buy him at the sales.

“With that prize-money in the bank, he’ll be close to being Karaka Millions qualified, so we’ve got the luxury of taking our time and planning our assault towards the big race.”

Spellbound (NZ) (Per Incanto) sits in third place on the order of entry with $7,400, followed by Luminosity (NZ) (Too Darn Hot) with $4,625, Enchantment (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) with $3,600, and Cool As Bling (NZ) (Hello Youmzain) with $2,250.

The next opportunity for New Zealand’s juveniles to secure prize-money in the race to the Karaka Millions will be at Avondale on Wednesday October 8, with the running of a 1000-metre race for a stake of $18,500.