Royal Stakes Adds New Dimension to 2022-23 NZB Filly of the Year Series
29 December 2022
The first five legs of the 2022-23 New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series have been dominated by undefeated superstar Legarto (NZ) (Proisir), who has opened up a commanding lead with three outstanding wins culminating in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m) on Boxing Day. But things can change when the series becomes a late-season test of stamina, and that begins on New Year’s Day with the $140,000 Group Two Elsdon Park Royal Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa.
The first of five legs in the Filly of the Year Series to be staged over 2000 metres or further, the Royal Stakes is being bypassed by Legarto and is worth 8 points for first, with 4 for second and 2 for third.
Three runners in the Royal Stakes field already have NZB Filly of the Year Series points to their name, headed by Polygon (NZ) (Highly Recommended), who sits in third spot on the table with 6 points.
The Cambridge Stud homebred recorded a win and a placing from her first six starts, but she stepped into stakes class with an impressive win in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa on December 17.
Fourth spot on the table belongs to Skew Wiff (NZ) (Savabeel), who announced her arrival in the NZB Filly of the Year Series with a big run for second to Legarto in the Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day and earned 4 points.
The other runner in the Royal Stakes field with points is Sophmaze (NZ) (Derryn), who collected 1.5 points with her third placing in the Eulogy Stakes earlier this month.
Of the other 11 runners in the field, Val Di Zoldo (NZ) (War Decree) has been Group Three-placed and another eight have won races.
Although the Royal Stakes can give its winner a big boost to begin their climb up the NZB Filly of the Year Series standings, there will be no change of leader this week. Legarto towers over her rivals with 26 points, with Best Seller (NZ) (Wrote) a distant second on 13 and also absent from the Royal Stakes line-up.
The Elsdon Park Royal Stakes will be run as Race 5 at Te Rapa on Sunday, with a start time of 2:55pm.
| # | HORSE | DRAW | COMMENTS | SALE | PURCHASER | TRAINER |
| 1 | Polygon | 9 | Carrying the colours of her owner-breeders, Cambridge Stud owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Polygon (NZ) (Highly Recommended) has made impressive progress this spring. She began the season with two unplaced starts to her name as a juvenile, but she has added two wins and a placing from five starts as a three-year-old. The most recent of those was the most significant, powering home to win the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at this track. That victory earned her 6 points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series, putting her in third place on the table. | Lance Noble | ||
| 2 | Sophmaze | 13 | Taranaki visitor Sophmaze (NZ) (Derryn) has been a model of consistency, finishing in the top four in all of her eight starts so far. That includes a black-type win in the Listed Castletown Stakes (1200m) as a two-year-old, and she also ran a last-start third in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m), earning 1.5 points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series. Bought for $50,000 from Book 2 of Karaka 2021, she has earned $68,560 in stakes. | Karaka 2021, Book 2 | SA Sharrock, $50,000 | Allan Sharrock |
| 3 | Skew Wiff | 4 | Waikato Stud homebred Skew Wiff (NZ) (Savabeel) has quality pedigree credentials, being by champion sire Savabeel out of stakes-winning mare Starvoia (Starcraft). After a second and two fifths from her first three races, the talented filly broke through with a dominant maiden win at Tauranga on October 19. Her black-type debut was a disaster, losing all chance at the start in the Group Three Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m), but she showed her true colours with an outstanding second behind top filly Legarto (NZ) (Proisir) in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m). She sits in fourth place on the NZB Filly of the Year Series table with 4 points. | Mark Walker | ||
| 4 | Imarichgirl | 11 | Imarichgirl (NZ) (Mongolian Khan) has never finished further back than fifth in her career, and she showed that she could handle black-type company with a gallant last-start fourth in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m). Thrown in at the deep end after a maiden win at Avondale in her previous appearance, she stuck to her task gamely down the straight to finish within four lengths of Polygon (NZ) (Highly Recommended). | Karaka 2021, Book 1 | Psd, Res $80,000 | Andrew Forsman |
| 5 | Family Ties | 3 | $60,000 Ready to Run Sale purchase Family Ties (NZ) (Contributer) finished third and first in strong form races in the first two starts of her career. Her only other appearance came in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m), where she sat well back after a slow start, but made up ground down the straight to finish fifth. | 2021 Ready to Run Sale | DC Ellis, $60,000 | Mark Walker |
| 6 | Sedaka | 5 | Syndicators Go Racing secured Sedaka (NZ) (Savabeel) for $125,000 from the Valachi Downs Unreserved Young & Racing Stock Dispersal on Gavelhouse Plus earlier this year. She debuted with a third placing at Cambridge in late September, then scored at Tauranga on October 19. She ran second behind subsequent Group Three winner Devastate (NZ) (Vadamos) at the same venue a few weeks later, then ran sixth in the Listed Trevor & Corallie Eagle Memorial (1500m) and an unlucky ninth in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m). | Stephen Marsh | ||
| 7 | Complicate | 1 | Complicate (NZ) (Complacent) made a promising start to her three-year-old season with a placing and a win from her first two starts. She then stepped into stakes class in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m), where she sat in second place and loomed large at the top of the straight, but faded through the closing stages to finish eighth. | Wayne Hillis | ||
| 8 | Sakura Girl | 6 | Bought for $260,000 from the Ready to Run Sale, Sakura Girl (NZ) (Iffraaj) made a big impression with a smart win over 1600 metres on debut in late October. Her only other start came in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m), where she made an eye-catching late run from second-last to finish sixth. Extra distance should work in her favour. | 2021 Ready to Run Sale | Upper Bloodstock, $260,000 | Ben Foote |
| 9 | Sassyness | 8 | A stylish come-from-behind maiden win at Tauranga earned a shot at the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m) for Sassyness (NZ) (Sacred Falls), who raced in fourth place for most of the journey before flattening out in the straight and crossing the finish line in sixth. | Andrew Forsman | ||
| 10 | Sea The Light | 7 | Sea The Light (NZ) (Astern) landed a monumental upset when she won her second start at $90 odds, but she has quickly proven that it was no fluke. Her next start produced a fourth placing in the Listed Trevor & Corallie Eagle Memorial (1500m), and she came with an eye-catching late run for fifth over 1600 metres on December 17. Sea The Light has a half-sister catalogued for Karaka 2023, with a filly by Almanzor going through the ring in Book 1 as Lot 279. | Karaka 2021, Book 1 | JG Ross, $50,000 | Peter & Dawn Williams |
| 11 | Val Di Zoldo | 2 | Val Di Zoldo (NZ) (War Decree) was bought for $285,000 from the Valachi Downs Unreserved Young & Racing Stock Dispersal on Gavelhouse Plus earlier this year. Although she is still a maiden, the Tony Pike-trained filly has placed in five of her eight starts including the Group Three 2YO Classic (1200m). She also finished fourth in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m) and the Group Three Soliloquy Stakes (1400m). | Tony Pike | ||
| 12 | Bella Tivaci | 14 | A first-up winner at Avondale in late November, Bella Tivaci (NZ) (Tivaci) has subsequently finished fifth at Ruakaka and eighth in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m). Bella Tivaci's full-sister will be offered by Waikato Stud during Book 1 of Karaka 2023, going through the ring as Lot 380. | Karaka 2021, Book 2 | Stuart Hale & Co, $30,000 | Nicholas Bishara |
| 13 | Kahma Suitsya | 10 | Tavistock filly Kahma Suitsya (NZ) is still a maiden, but she has placed in three of her six starts so far. She ran second behind the highly rated Mark Twain (NZ) (Shocking) in her most recent appearance at Hawera on Christmas Eve. Kahma Suitsya has a half-sister by Contributer being offered as Lot 8 during Book 1 of Karaka 2023. | Shaun Phelan | ||
| 14 | Safura | 12 | Safura (NZ) (Almanzor) is beautifully bred, being by exciting sire Almanzor out of the Listed winner and Group One-placed Corsage (NZ) (Volksraad). Corsage is also a proven broodmare, with her progeny including the Group Two winner Aotea Lad (NZ) (Savabeel). Safura has shown some of that family ability on the track, finishing in the top four in all but one of her five starts to date. She worked home well for a last-start second at Matamata on December 23. | Mark Walker |