Select Field for NZB 1000 Guineas

A small but select field of three-year-old fillies will assemble for the Group 1 $300,000 New Zealand Bloodstock 1000 Guineas (1600m) on Saturday at Riccarton Park, the third race in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series.

Current NZB Filly of the Year Series leader Bounding.

The eight-horse field has attracted quality fillies from both the North and South Island, along with one runner now trained by leading Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse.

Heading the field is current Filly of the Year Series leader Bounding (Lonhro), trained by Ken and Bev Kelso at Matamata. The daughter of Lonhro has been a dominant three-year-old this season, winning all three of her starts including the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes and the Group 3 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes.

The early race-favourite, Bounding is the highest rated horse in the race with five wins from seven career starts and her last start resulted in victory in the Group 3 Memorial Stakes over 1400m on 28 October. She has the services once again of jockey Mark du Plessis from barrier seven.

Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse is represented in the race by Role Model (NZ) (Bel Danoro), having her first start for the Melbourne Cup winning trainer. The filly bred by Gerry Harvey was recently purchased by Bruce Slade’s Round Table Racing and transferred to Waterhouse’s tutelage after doing her early racing in Harvey’s colours.

The filly by Bel Danoro has won two races from her six starts and was a last-start second in the Group 2 Wellington Guineas against the colts and geldings, going down narrowly to Sacred Park (NZ). Role Model will be ridden by Hayden Tinsley from barrier six.

Te Akau Racing’s Jason Bridgman travels two horses down from his Matamata base, the first of the two is Costa Viva (Encosta de Lago), a winner of two of her three starts. She finished second behind Bounding at her last outing in the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes, picking up three points in the Filly of the Year Series putting her in currently third place on the Series leaderboard.

The Encosta de Lago filly was a Listed winner at her start at Ashburton beating stablemate Chambord (NZ), runner-up in the Group 1 NZ 2000 Guineas last weekend. Top jockey Leith Innes has been handed the task of piloting Costa Viva from the outside barrier on Saturday.

The other runner for Jason Bridgman is Spellbinder (NZ) (O’Reilly), the winner of her first two starts including a 6.5 length victory in the Listed Soliloquy Stakes that places her second on the Filly of the Year points table. The daughter of O’Reilly was beaten into second at her last start behind Bounding in the Group 3 Memorial Stakes. Te Akau Racing’s regular rider Matthew Cameron will ride the Karaka graduate in Saturday’s feature race.

Cambridge trainer Roger James has Miss Foxwood (Fastnet Rock) engaged in the $300,000 feature event. The filly by champion sire Fastnet Rock has only had four raceday appearances, winning one race and never finishing out of the top four. She was last seen running third in the Group 3 Memorial Stakes behind race rivals Bounding and Spellbinder.

The last of the Northern raiders is Miss Mossman (NZ) (Mossman) trained by John Sargent and Hayden Allen. The Karaka graduate is a winner of one race and also comes through the Group 3 Memorial Stakes where she finished mid-field. The filly by Mossman has drawn favourably in barrier three for rider Kelly Myers.

There are two South Island runners in the race, with both horses trained on the Riccarton Park course.

Rachel Rafter (NZ) (Perfectly Ready) will represent the Kevin and Pam Hughes stable for breeder/owner Adrian Clark. She is the winner of one race and has been stakes placed as a two-year-old on her home course.

The other Southerner is the Terri Rae trained Silhouette Noir (Dane Shadow), a winner from only three starts that has drawn the coveted one barrier. The Dane Shadow filly won on debut before finishing third in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes. The local filly will be ridden by Jamie Bullard who recently cracked 1000 career wins.

The winner of the New Zealand Bloodstock 1000 Guineas will receive 12 points towards the New Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, with second placing collecting 7 points and third earning 3.5 points. To view the full field for the $300,000 New Bloodstock 1000 Guineas, click here.