Why Be Sprints to Another Success
21 May 2007
Karaka Select Sale graduate and reigning Singapore Horse of the Year Why Be (Success Express x Charybdis) continued his winning way in spectacular front-running style at Kranji on Saturday and headed a line-up of eight New Zealand Bloodstock winners in Singapore this weekend.
Singapore sprinting star Why Be provided racegoers with an exciting finish to celebrate his 19th victory from 24 starts, and his biggest pay day yet, in the feature Singapore Listed S$500,000 Lion City Cup (1200m).
Jockey Barend Vorster sent Why Be to the front to win by a nose from Capablanca in second and Karaka graduate Zinly in third, with Capablanca and Zinly ridden by New Zealand jockeys Andrew Calder and Vinny Colgan respectively. The ultra-consistent Why Be has only finished further back than third once in his twenty-four start career when he finished fifth in this race last year.
Why Be was purchased by Bruce Wallace at the 2004 Karaka Select Sale for NZ$26,000 from Chequers Stud and the four-year-old has now won over S$1.7m for his owners, Perfectum Stable. With four wins over the weekend, Why Be's trainer, Laurie Laxon, now leads the Singapore Trainers Premiership by 25 wins ahead of Donald Baertschiger.
Third placed Zinly (Danasinga x La Cent), trained by Stephen Chua was a NZ$65,000 purchase by Tony Pike from Waikato Stud at the 2004 Karaka Premier Sale.
Both Capablanca and Zinly's half-siblings were sold at Karaka this year. Capablanca's half-sister by Falbrav was purchased by Western Australia bloodstock agent John Chalmers for NZ$60,000 and Zinly's half-brother was purchased by Mr AG Tan for NZ$170,000.
On Saturday night My Royal Captain (Zabeel x Kiwi Magic), under Australian jockey Darren Beadman, took out the $95,000 Sydney Turf Club Trophy Open Benchmark 83 (1400m). Another Laxon prot�g� and half-brother to the dual Group 1 winner, Flitter (by Bluebird), the four-year-old was bred by Don and Rochelle McLaren and purchased by Rob McAnulty from Haunui Farm for NZ$120,000 at the 2004 Karaka Premier Sale. This was his fifth win from eleven starts and he now has amassed prize money of over S$200,000.
Click below to view a full list of the performances of New Zealand Bloodstock graduates this weekend in Singapore and Hong Kong.