Valuable Champions Day Final a Pearl Series Highlight
6 March 2026
Along with its seven Group and Listed races, Champions Day at Ellerslie on Saturday also features a lucrative final for a series that provides outstanding returns to owners, breeders and trainers all year round.
The last race on the 10-race card on Saturday is the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series Final (1400m), with a base stake of $120,000 – including $69,000 for first, $22,200 for second and $10,800 for third.
On top of that, an additional $100,000 in bonuses are up for grabs, with $70,000 going to the winning owners, $20,000 to the connections of the runner-up and $10,000 for third, generously funded by Entain, NZB Insurance, the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
Saturday marks the third running of the valuable Pearl Series Final. The inaugural winner in 2024 was Grey Haze (NZ) (Dalghar), followed by Francee (NZ) (Iffraaj) last year.
An exciting field of 14 fillies and mares has been assembled for the 2026 edition, including stakes-winning three-year-old filly Circus Dancer (NZ) (Circus Maximus) and the unbeaten Elle Sourit (NZ) (Ocean Park).
The Pearl Series Final will bring the curtain down on what promises to be a superb Champions Day card, with a scheduled start time of 6.23pm on Saturday.
The Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series is a bonus scheme for Southern Hemisphere-bred fillies and mares. The scheme includes up to 100 individual races for fillies and mares over four seasons' racing, with bonuses for each race of $28,000.
The series has been designed to benefit owners, trainers and breeders of fillies and mares running in New Zealand, with races available in all regions of the country. All bonuses are cumulative, so a horse can win multiple bonuses throughout her racing career.
Yearlings must be nominated for the Series prior to the NZTBA deadlines as per their website. This is generally July 31 each year before yearlings turn two years of age. Earlybird nominations are open until March 31, saving up to $500 + GST on entry fees for yearlings purchased at Karaka in January.
| # | HORSE | DRAW | COMMENTS | SALE | PURCHASER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dramatic Miss | 1 | The Stephen Marsh-trained Dramatic Miss (NZ) (El Roca) was a $45,000 purchase from Book 2 of Karaka 2023. She has had 16 starts for two wins, six placings and $78,100 in stakes, and she also struck a $25,000 NZB Mega Maiden Bonus as a three-year-old last season. | Karaka 2023, Book 2 | Stephen Marsh Racing/Dylan Johnson Bloodstock, $45,000 |
| 2 | Elle Sourit | 6 | Emerging talent Elle Sourit (NZ) (Ocean Park) brings a perfect three-from-three record into this race. She put together impressive victories at Hawera, Pukekohe and TeRapa between March and August of last year. This is her first raceday appearance since then. She has so far earned $51,750. | Karaka 2023, Book 1 | Psd, Res $80,000 |
| 3 | Circus Dancer | 3 | The only three-year-old filly in this field, Circus Dancer (NZ) (Circus Maximus) comes in as the winner of two of her three starts. She won on debut at New Plymouth in October, then added the Listed O'Learys Fillies' Stakes (1340m) at Wanganui. She was ninth in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m) on Boxing Day in her most recent appearance. She has banked $60,410. | ||
| 4 | Dollybird | Scratched | |||
| 5 | Sista Sugar | 11 | Sista Sugar (NZ) (Too Darn Hot) was a $45,000 purchase by Bryan Black from Book 2 of Karaka 2023. She has had nine starts for two wins, four placings and $97,475 in stakes | Karaka 2023, Book 2 | BG Black, $45,000 |
| 6 | Fosse | 9 | A homebred for Pencarrow Stud principal Sir Peter Vela, Fosse (NZ) (Darci Brahma) is a two-time winner from nine starts to date. She has placed on another two occasions and has so far earned $58,325. | ||
| 7 | Eye Candy | 8 | A third placegetter in the Group Three Sunline Vase (2100m) on Champions Day last year, Eye Candy (NZ) (Darci Brahma) is back again as a four-year-old for another race on the biggest stage. She has had 12 starts for two wins, three placings and $68,230. | ||
| 8 | Mid Ocean | 5 | Henrietta, Duchess of Bedford's Mid Ocean (NZ) (Ocean Park) was rated highly enough to contest the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m) around this time last year. She appears to have come back well at four, with her two starts over 1400 metres producing a win on Boxing Day and a close third on January 11. | ||
| 9 | Pax Mundi | 13 | Mendelssohn mare Pax Mundi was bred and is part-owned by Haunui Farm, who won this race last year with Francee (NZ) (Iffraaj). Pax Mundi has had 27 starts for four wins, four placings and $88,980. | ||
| 10 | Sperlari | 14 | Windsor Park Stud homebred Sperlari (NZ) (Vanbrugh) has recorded two wins so far from a nine-start career, including a last-start victory over 1400 metres at Waipukurau on February 15. She has also placed three times and has earned $36,715. | ||
| 11 | Live On Air | 4 | Bought for just $8,250 from the NZB National Online Yearling Sale, Live On Air (NZ) (Proisir) has earned $52,535 from a 21-start career that has featured two wins, three seconds and two thirds. | 2022 National Online Yearling Sale | Upstage Bloodstock, $8,250 |
| 12 | Transaction | 2 | Transaction (NZ) (Ocean Park) races in the same white, red and black colours of owner-breeders Haunui Farm that were carried to victory in this race last year by Francee (NZ) (Iffraaj). Transaction has had 11 starts for two wins, two placings and $36,987. | ||
| 13 | Vieni Su | 10 | Daniel Nakhle's homebred mare Vieni Su (NZ) (Per Incanto) has been a two-time winner from 10 starts so far, earing $33,730 in stakes. | ||
| 14 | Bethany Dee | 7 | A half-sister to Magic Carpet (NZ) (Satono Aladdin), who contests the Group One New Zealand Derby (2400m) earlier on Saturday afternoon, Bethany Dee (NZ) (Embellish) has had just six starts for a win, a second and a fourth, earning $30,795. |