Stellar Start to Spring for Wentwood Grange

An ever-growing list of star graduates has given the team at Wentwood Grange plenty to celebrate in recent years, but even by their standards, the first Saturday in September was one out of the box.

The Cambridge farm was established in 2000 by Welsh immigrants Des and Jan Hawkins and is now in the hands of their sons Dean, Leigh and Sean. The roll of honour listed on their website features no fewer than 20 Group One victories by the likes of Kermadec, Kolding, Humidor, Gust Of Wind and the Royal Ascot King’s Stand Stakes hero Little Bridge.

But Saturday’s events will hold their own special place in Wentwood’s history. Their graduates won two of the three black-type races at Ellerslie, with Quintessa capturing the Gr. 1 Proisir Plate and Affirmative Action taking out the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy. A couple of hours later, they also secured a Group Two placing in Sydney.

“What a fantastic day for the farm – two stakes wins in New Zealand for horses that we sold, and then With Your Blessing ran a very good third in the Tramway Stakes at Randwick as well,” Dean Hawkins told RaceForm.

“We’ve been lucky enough to have some special moments in the past with horses like Kermadec and Gust Of Wind to name just a couple, but we never take it for granted. To have a day like Saturday, and especially so early in the spring carnivals, was a massive thrill. It’s just brilliant for our clients and all of our team, who work so hard. We’re absolutely chuffed.”

The headline act was Quintessa, who came from last with an extraordinary burst down the Ellerslie straight. She was still at the back of the 16-horse Proisir Plate field with 200 metres to run, but then swept past her rivals like they were standing still. By the time she reached the finish line, she was a length and a half in front of runner-up La Crique.

The daughter of Shamus Award was bred by long-time Wentwood clients Linda and Graham Huddy under their Peachester Lodge banner. Te Akau’s David Ellis bought Quintessa for $170,000 from the Wentwood draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2022. The five-year-old has now won six of her 19 starts and has earned over $1.05 million.

“That was an astonishing performance on Saturday,” Hawkins said. “She’s always raced well fresh, and Mark Walker, Sam Bergerson and the Te Akau team did an incredible job to get her ready to perform like that on Saturday.

“Rory Hutchings must have known the engine that he had under him. He rode her like the best horse in the race. It was amazing to watch.

“Linda and Graham Huddy are wonderful clients and friends of ours, so we’re thrilled for them. Linda still has a share in Quintessa and she just loves her to bits.

“Quintessa was born and raised here and was always such a lovely moving filly. We took her to Karaka, where we sold her to Te Akau. She was already a Group One winner as a three-year-old in the Levin Classic, but for her to train on and win another Group One as a five-year-old is terrific for everyone involved.”

The Colin Meads Trophy was a breakthrough moment for the Pam Gerard-trained Affirmative Action. It was only the second raceday start for the imposing Yes Yes Yes gelding, who had run third on debut at Taupo just 20 days earlier. He handled the step up in class superbly with a determined victory over the late-finishing He Who Dares.

“Affirmative Action was pinhooked by two members of our team, Brooke Hawthorne and Ryan Stacey, who bought him for A$40,000 as a weanling in Sydney,” Hawkins said. “We then offered him at Karaka last year and sold him to one of the very best judges, Paul Moroney, for $115,000.

“He was always a lovely, big strong colt and Pam Gerard and her team have had huge raps on him.

“I was delighted for Brooke and Ryan. A result like that really vindicates what they’re trying to do.”

Saturday’s successes continued an outstanding start to the new season for Wentwood, whose current high-profile graduates also include the Andrew Forsman-trained pair of Elle Sourit (NZ) (Ocean Park) and Mary Shan (NZ) (Almanzor).

Elle Sourit extended her unbeaten career record to three out of three with another impressive performance at Te Rapa on Foxbridge Plate Day, while multiple black-type placegetter Mary Shan kicked off her five-year-old season in winning style at Wanganui on August 30.

“Andrew Forsman has had a lot of luck off our farm with horses like the Group One winner Lickety Split, so it’s exciting to see him with a couple of very promising prospects that carry our brand,” Hawkins said. “Elle Sourit is unbeaten in three starts and very exciting, and Mary Shan looks like she could be in for another good season.

“We also had a smart debut winner at Bendigo on Sunday called Romantic Encounter, who was bred by another fantastic client of ours, Stephanie Hole.

“So there’s a lot happening, which is exactly the way you want it to be at this point of the season. We’re now only a few months away from the yearling sales, and with it being the 100th New Zealand National Sale, it’s going to be an amazing week at Karaka. The team at NZB is really promoting it.

“We’re looking forward to taking an exciting draft. We’ve got three yearlings from the first crop of Anamoe, along with a couple of Super Seths. There’s a half to Mr Brightside in there too. We can’t wait.”

- Richard Edmunds, RaceForm