Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) Fulfils Derby Destiny

Hall of Famer Graeme Rogerson has trained more winners than anyone else in New Zealand racing history and has won over 50 Group One races, but he had never won his homeland’s most prestigious classic – until Karaka graduate Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) (Redwood) came along.

On Saturday at Te Rapa, Rogerson finally broke through in the $1m Group One New Zealand Derby (2400m) with Sharp ‘N’ Smart, who he bought for $55,000 from Book 2 of Karaka 2021 just over two years ago. Now a triple Group One winner, Sharp ‘N’ Smart has had 11 starts for six wins, four placings and more than $3m in stakes.

While the New Zealand Derby has a long and rich history and has been won by countless three-year-olds who have gone on to great things, few contenders have achieved as much before the big race as Sharp ‘N’ Smart.

He won his first Group One in the Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) in Sydney last October, followed seven days later by a gallant second in the Group One Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington. In his final New Zealand Derby lead-up a few weeks before the big one, he emphatically beat a top-drawer field of older horses in the weight-for-age Group One Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m). Betting markets suggested a Derby triumph by Sharp ‘N’ Smart was essentially a foregone conclusion, and so it proved on Saturday.

Confidently ridden by Ryan Elliot, Sharp ‘N’ Smart settled in midfield before getting into gear with about 600 metres remaining. He suddenly surged forward out wide on the track, swooping around the outside to take the race by the scruff of the neck at the top of the home straight.

There were some brief scares in the final 400 metres, including a powerful late bid by the fast-finishing Andalus (NZ) (Almanzor), but Sharp ‘N’ Smart always gave the impression that he had the race firmly in his grasp and had plenty more up his sleeve if required. He duly delivered the Derby victory that everyone expected, scoring by a long neck.

“I think this is a great horse,” said Rogerson, who shares in the ownership of the star gelding and trains him in partnership with his wife Debbie.

“Once he hit the front today, he pulled himself up and thought he’d done enough. He doesn’t win by big margins, but I think he could be potentially the best horse we’ve had in New Zealand for a long time.

“I’m hoping he’ll learn a bit more about how to be a racehorse, and then us and the other owners can look forward to a big spring in Australia and then potentially a trip to Hong Kong after that.”

More immediately, Rogerson said Sharp ‘N’ Smart will attempt to complete a Derby double in next month’s Group One Australian Derby (2400m) in Sydney.

Elliot deflected all praise for Saturday’s big win on to his mount.

“We got a nice position early and tucked in behind, before we got some clear air and came into it nicely,” he said. “He is just a big kid with so much to learn. Coming up the straight he was waiting, but then he saw the other horses and kicked back strongly.”

Runner-up Andalus is also a Karaka graduate, bought for $420,000 by Bruce Perry Bloodstock from Book 1 of Karaka 2021. He has had 11 starts for a win, three seconds and a third, banking $228,630 in stakes to date.

Vendor	Karaka 2021: Westbury StudReady to Run Sale: Dormello Stud
Purchaser	Karaka 2021: Rogerson Bloodstock (Waikato)
Breeding	Redwood – Queen Margaret
Sale	Lot 612, Karaka 2021 Book 2, $55,000Lot 255, 2021 Ready to Run Sale, Psd (Res $90,000)
Bred by	G Harvey