So Wotif Takes Courageous G3 Victory

A great front running performance has seen the Iffraaj three-year-old So Wotif hold off a hot field of three-year-olds to win his first stakes race in Saturday’s $70,000 Group 3 NZB Insurance Pearl Series Mr Tiz Trophy (1200m) at Ellerslie.

With the field containing the likes of Little Wonder (Volksraad), Sacred Point (Fastnet Rock) and the smart Albany Reunion (Fastnet Rock), the Group 3 honours went to So Wotif (Iffraaj x Electricity) and inform jockey Opie Bosson who has had an excellent Auckland Cup Carnival.

So Wotif is the 11th stakes winner for his young sire Iffraaj

Trained by Richard Collett, So Wotif was backed into favourite for Saturday’s race having had just five starts for two wins and an unlucky second at Matamata at his last start and he put in a tough performance, leading for most of the race to record a half-length win.

Karaka graduates claimed the Group 3 trifecta with the exciting Albany Reunion running a brilliant race for second after being posted three-wide for the trip with Dorian Grey (Postponed) claiming third place.

Bred by P Chen, So Wotif is raced by Arthur Avis and is the 11th stakes winner for his young sire Iffraaj who shuttles to Haunui Farm and was Europe’s Champion First Season sire in 2010.

So Wotif is from Iffraaj’s first southern hemisphere crop, a crop that has also produced the triple Group 2 winning filly and Group 1 NZ Derby placed Fix, stakes winner Twilight Granita, the Group 2 placed Liberating and Solar Eclipse and stakes placed Kisses and Glade.

So Wotif was purchased by Robert Dawe’s The Robt Dawe Agency from Maara Grange at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2011 Karaka Select Sale for $115,000. He has now won three of his six starts for just under $65,000 in stakes.