Seven Group 1 Winners to Clash in NZB Memsie Stakes
25 August 2016
The first Group 1 race in Australia for the new season has attracted a phenomenal field, with seven Group 1 winners among the 14-horse line-up for the Group 1 A$500,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday.
Five of those seven Group 1 winners are New Zealand-bred, and four of them are graduates of New Zealand Bloodstock sales.
Prince of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire) rose to stardom last November with his stunning victory in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup. He was purchased by John Foote Bloodstock for $50,000 at the 2011 Premier Sale.
A $45,000 Select Sale purchase by Rick Connolly Bloodstock, Tarzino (NZ) (Tavistock) won twice at Group 1 level last season, claiming the Victoria Derby in Melbourne in the spring and the Rosehill Guineas in Sydney in the autumn.
Another son of Tavistock, Tavago (NZ), was a runaway winner of the Group 1 Australian Derby at Randwick. He was a $60,000 purchase by Craig Oldfield at the 2014 Premier Sale.
Rising Romance (NZ) (Ekraar) has proven her class at Group 1 level in the past, finishing second in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup in 2014.
Reigning NZB Filly of the Year Sofia Rosa (NZ) (Makfi) won two stakes races in her homeland, was second in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks and then ended her three-year-old campaign with victory in the Group 1 Australian Oaks in Sydney. She was a $65,000 purchase by Bruce Perry Bloodstock at the 2014 Select Sale.
The other Group 1 winners in this year’s NZB Memsie Stakes field are the Darren Weir-trained pair of Palentino (Teofilo), who won the Australian Guineas at Flemington, and the Goodwood Handicap victor Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars).
The chances aren’t limited to those seven stars, with the likes of Lord Of The Sky (Danerich), Alpine Eagle (High Chaparral), Mahuta (Flying Spur) and Tally (Street Cry) also boasting impressive credentials.
The Group 1 NZB Memsie Stakes is the second leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Caulfield Spring Weight-for-Age Championship, which is comprised of the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m), the Group 1 NZB Memsie Stakes (1400m), the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) and the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m).
With A$1.8 million in stakes up for grabs over the four-race series, the ultimate winner of the Championship will receive trophies to the value of $15,000.
The winner of Saturday’s race will be awarded 10 points, with points given back to eighth place.
At the top of the current leaderboard for the NZB Caulfield Spring WFA Championship is Miss Rose De Lago (Encosta De Lago), sitting on 10 points after her victory in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes.
The New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes will be held as Race 7 and is scheduled to run at 4.10pm AEST.
| # | Horse | Draw | Comments | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1 | Prince Of Penzance | 11 | The sensational winner of last year's Melbourne Cup, Prince Of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire) is making his first start since May and is likely to find the 1400 metres short of his best. He has recorded just one placing from four previous starts at the distance. | Darren Weir | Harry Coffey |
| 2 | Black Heart Bart | 5 | Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) is the winner of 12 of his 31 starts including the Group 1 Goodwood in Adelaide. He also finished second in the Stradbroke Handicap over this distance. He was the $2.80 Memsie Stakes favourite when the field was confirmed. | Darren Weir | Brad Rawiller |
| 3 | Lord Of The Sky | 1 | A multiple stakes winner at Caulfield, Lord Of The Sky (Danerich) has performed up to the highest level with a second placing behind Chautauqua (Encosta De Lago) in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick. | Robbie Laing | Damien Oliver |
| 4 | Charmed Harmony | 3 | The winner of 13 races including three at Caulfield, Charmed Harmony (Hussonet) was second to Black Heart Bart in the Group 3 Victoria Handicap over this course and distance earlier this year. | John Sadler | Thomas Sadler |
| 5 | He Or She | 12 | Talented six-year-old He Or She (Kendel Star) has won nine of his 19 starts and beat the subsequent Group 1 winner The United States (Galileo) when he won the Group 2 Blamey Stakes at Flemington in March | David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn |
| 6 | Tashbeeh | 14 | Commands five-year-old Tashbeeh prepared for this race with an eye-catching third in the Group 3 Aurie's Star Handicap at Flemington three weeks ago. | David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Cory Parish |
| 7 | Alpine Eagle | 6 | Alpine Eagle (High Chaparral) is a Group 2 winner at this track in the Autumn Classic in his three-year-old season, which he followed up with a close second in the Group 1 Australian Guineas. Lightly raced with just nine starts, he has won four and earned almost $300,000. | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie |
| 8 | Mahuta | 2 | Prolific winner Mahuta (Flying Spur) has had six victories in his 11 starts, including a winning streak of six in a row last season. He was a Group 2 winner over this course and distance in the Autumn Stakes. He is a 1400-metre specialist, winning four times in five attempts at the distance. | Darren Weir | John Allen |
| 9 | Tarzino | 9 | Tarzino (NZ) (Tavistock) is a dual Group 1 winner, capturing the Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas in outstanding style last season. | Mick Price | Craig Newitt |
| 10 | Tavago | 8 | Another Derby-winning son of Tavistock, Tavago (NZ) has recorded three wins from his seven-start career including the Group 1 Australian Derby and the Group 3 Wellington Stakes. He represents the formerly Cambridge-based couple Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, who relocated to Cranbourne during the winter. | Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young | Ben Melham |
| 11 | Palentino | 10 | Palentino (Teofilo) has recorded three wins and three seconds from just eight starts, including a win in the Group 1 Australian Guineas | Darren Weir | Mark Zahra |
| 12 | Tally | 13 | Godolphin's Tally (Street Cry) has won five of his 10 starts including stakes victories in the Group 2 Autumn Classic and Alister Clark Stakes. He also finished third behind Tavago in the Australian Derby. | John O'Shea | Michael Dee |
| 13 | Rising Romance | 4 | New Zealand-bred and owned, and formerly Kiwi-trained, Rising Romance (NZ) (Ekraar) is a proven Group 1 performer on this track - she ran second in the Caulfield Cup in 2014. | David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig | Damian Lane |
| 14 | Sofia Rosa | 7 | New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Sofia Rosa (NZ) (Makfi) is a three-time stakes winner including the Group 1 Australian Oaks at Randwick last spring. Expected to improve with racing and increasing distance, but trainer Stephen Marsh is confident of a bold run. | Stephen Marsh | Michael Walker |