Zanardi (NZ) Makes Early Mark in Countdown to TAB Karaka Millions 2YO

The $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) is still more than three months away, but exciting colt Zanardi (NZ) (Spirit Of Boom) has already put himself in prime position to contest the lucrative Ellerslie feature in late January.

Zanardi scored a super-impressive win in the North Island’s first two-year-old race of the season, the $65,000 Buzz Electrics 2YO (800m) at Hastings on Saturday. The colt earned $37,375, which has historically been more than enough to secure a Karaka Millions start.

Offered by breeders Cambridge Stud in Book 1 of Karaka 2026, Zanardi was bought by Te Akau Racing’s Sir David Ellis for $280,000. He was the favourite for Saturday’s race on the strength of a stylish trial win, and he lived up to those lofty expectations – but not without a few nervous moments.

Ridden by Michael McNab for Te Akau’s Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, Zanardi was restless in the starting gates and then was slowly away, settling in second-last after the first 100 metres of the race.

But Zanardi showed good speed through the middle stages to recover and kick through along the inside, and he was right in the thick of the action when the field reached the home turn.

McNab asked Zanardi to sprint again in the straight and he was up to the task, putting himself out of the reach of the Peter and Shaun McKay-trained Aquila Veloce (Capitalist) and Don Giuseppe (NZ) (Ardrossan) to win by a length and a half.

“He’d had only one trial before this and did a few things wrong,” McNab said. “He was just a bit fidgety in the gates and then came out a bit slow. So it wasn’t smooth sailing, but he has good ability. He was able to recover, get up and hold a good spot, and then his ability did the rest.

“He’s a beautiful horse. Ever since I first hopped on him, I thought he was a stunning colt.”

For Bergerson, Saturday’s victory has taken away a lot of the pressure of a Karaka Millions campaign.

“He’s a really nice colt,” Bergerson said. “He did things wrong today - he was pretty fresh, was a bit fractious in the gates and subsequently missed the jump. But he was able to rally through the field, and I loved the way he pinned his ears back and really fought to the line.

“He obviously has the talent and the speed. We just have to iron out a few of those chinks.

“The pressure’s off now in terms of the Karaka Millions. We can give him a break now and then have a team talk about what we do leading into the race, whether it’s a run on Boxing Day or in the Eclipse Stakes (Group Two, 1200m) on New Year’s Day. It’s a good problem to have.”

The Te Akau stable is synonymous with Karaka Millions 2YO success, winning it eight times in the last decade with Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands), Avantage (Fastnet Rock), Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel), Cool Aza Beel (NZ) (Savabeel), On The Bubbles (Brazen Beau), Dynastic (NZ) (Almanzor), Tokyo Tycoon (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) and La Dorada (NZ) (Super Seth).

Saturday’s placegetters Aquila Veloce and Don Giuseppe are also Karaka Millions eligible, and they earned $12,025 and $5,850 respectively with their performances on Saturday.

The next two-year-old race on the New Zealand calendar is the $40,000 Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series (800m) at Riccarton on October 24.

Vendor	Cambridge Stud
Purchaser	David Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) (Te Akau)
Breeding	Spirit Of Boom – Pazienza
Sale	Lot 33, Karaka 2026 Book 1, $280,000
Breeder	B J Lindsay MNZM & Mrs J E A Lindsay
Owner	Te Akau Titleholder Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM)