NZB Stakes Victories for Juice & Mercury Mistress
12 April 2010
Two commanding performances by Karaka graduates, Juice and Mercury Mistress, saw them emerge the victors of the�both New Zealand Bloodstock sponsored stakes races for fillies and mares on Saturday.
Four-year-old Juice (Bertolini x Call Minder by Christmas Tree) took home top honours for New Plymouth trainer John Wheeler at Te Aroha, winning the Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Breeders' Stakes in fine style.
Leading the field throughout, the ever honest Culminate (Elnadim x Solstice by Marceau) looked to have the field's measure before Hayden Tinsley and Juice revealed their hand. Racing sixth on the outer Tinsley expertly timed Juice's run, storming down the outside to win by three-quarters-of-a-length. Talented filly Obsession (Bachelor Duke x Mystery Creek by Kaapstad) was impressive to finish in third.
Winning at stakes level in each year of her racing career to date, �Juice won the Listed NZB Fillies Stakes at Avondale as a juvenile to go on to win the Group 3 Hawkes Bay Gold Trail Stakes early in her three-year-old year. She also finished second to in the Group 1 NZB 1000 Guineas and fourth in the NZB Filly of the Year Series, won by another Central Districts-trained mare in Daffodil (No Excuse Needed).
Recent NZ Racing Hall of Fame inductee John Wheeler reported this morning that Juice had pulled up from the race in super order and will head to the Group 1 Land Pride Easter Handicap (1600m) at Ellerslie this Saturday.
The King of the Queensland Winter Carnival also commented "I'll be taking a team over to Brisbane again this year and at this stage Juice is on the short-list. After the Easter there's not much left for her here this preparation."
Call Minder, herself a Listed Matamata Cup winner, has produced four to race of which all�are winners. She is from the family of champion 2 & 3YO in NZ in Tang (Taipan II). Bertolini stood at Rich Hill Stud for five seasons with Juice now his best performer with over $460,000 earned for her owners Graeme and Jack Kissick.
Popular Matamata vet Jim Marks bred the mare and sold her through Seaton Park at the Carnival Sale for $20,000.
The win takes the total number of Group 1 winning graduates this season that were sold by New Zealand Bloodstock to 14.
Meanwhile at Riccarton, after the running of the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Airfreight Stakes, the winner Mercury Mistress (No Excuse Needed x Flytaine by Centaine) added her name to the top of the table, making it three fillies tied for the lead in the NZB Southern Filly of the Year Series.
Trained in Cambridge by Lance Noble, Mercury Mistress bounced out confidently from barrier one to lead throughout the race. On entering the straight, Buddy Lammas urged her to draw away and warn off a challenge from Champagne Joy (Thorn Park x Madamina by Key to Content) who finished a just under a length back in second.
Like Juice, Mercury Mistress was a $20,000 purchase from Karaka. Part-owner in the filly, Rob Burnet secured her at the 2008 Select Sale from her breeders, Waikato Stud.
The Beekeeper (Keeper x The Minder by Personal Escourt) added one point for third in the race to her three from finishing second in the Listed NZB Insurance Stakes last start. Currently Brown Eyed Grace (Van Nistelrooy) and Chaparella (High Chaparrel) complete the three-way-tie with the final race in the Series, the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes (2000m) set to run on 24 April at Riccarton.