Showboy Making a Case for Karaka Million

Promising two-year-old Showboy (NZ) (Showcasing) secured a start in the $1m Karaka Million after Saturday’s victory in the Group 2 $100,000 Golden Homes Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) at Trentham.

Showboy (NZ) triumphant in the Group 2 Golden Homes Wakefield Challenge Stakes. Photo courtesy of Trish Dunell.

With only three starts on the track, Showboy not only won his first race but claimed black type while doing so for Pukekohe-based trainer Nigel Tiley.

First away from the barriers, Showboy raced three-wide, covering a lot of ground before settling into third place throughout the trip. He dashed to the lead within the final 200m, finishing strong to win by a long head for jockey Jonathan Riddell.

“I knew he would run a very good race, he has been unlucky in his first couple of starts,” commented Tiley. “Jonathan said he was very professional, it was very tough at the finish because he had a hard run but Showboy was tough under pressure.”

Fellow Karaka graduate Serena Miss (NZ) (Iffraaj) finished second behind Showboy at the winning post, followed immediately by stable mate Jacquetta (NZ) (Keeper) in third place.

Showboy has taken the lead in the order of entry for the 2015 Karaka Million; his total earnings have increased to $68,000 for owners S Cole, Ms M Rutherford and Mrs L C & N W Tiley.

“I haven’t made a decision where to next, he may have one more run before the Karaka Million, it depends on how he comes through the trip,” said Tiley. “Otherwise, he will go straight into the Karaka Million as he is now in the lead. The Karaka Million is our main objective but he is also eligible for the Haunui Farm Diamond Bonus which will be his main objective beyond that.”

Showboy was bred in Karaka by Haunui Bloodstock Ltd, where his sire Showcasing stands. He is among Showcasing’s first progeny and is now his first stakes winner in the Southern Hemisphere.

He was purchased as a yearling by Tiley at the 2014 Karaka Festival Sale for $15,000 from Haunui Farm. “I liked him as a type and liked his pedigree,” says Tiley. Showcasing has a total of 32 yearlings across the 2015 National Yearling Sales Series.

The winning two-year-old is out of Shades of Silk (Thunder Gulch), a half-sister to Group 3 winner The Man (Dehere). Shades of Silk is dam to six named foals, four of them winners and the other two placed. His second dam Lycra (Tights) was dual Group 1 winner of the Ellerslie Sires’ Produce Stakes and the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes.