Photo credit: Peter Rubery (Race Images)
What a thrill to see the ever-consistent Pacheco being so brave with a front-running win at Taupo, taking out the Poverty Bay Turf Cup ($80,000) under a superb ride from Liam Kauri, who took 2kg off. Liam was delighted and told us, "Thank you so much, this is the biggest race I've ever won." It’s great to be able to support Liam, as he has had multiple ups and downs in his career, with leg and ankle surgeries as well as heart surgery. It’s a true testament to his resilience and bravery to be back in the saddle and riding as well as he is.
Pacheco was sent for a short spell after he had a below-par run at Ellerslie, likely due to the track being a little firm. He enjoyed two weeks out and has been back in work, just as well with all this rain about! We will make an assessment about where he heads next after he has his first gallop back since his short spell.
It’s also with great sadness that we hear of the passing of one of Pacheco’s owners, Murray Darroch. Murray took great pleasure in watching his races and had been associated with Phelan Racing for many years. He will be sadly missed.
Photo: Kenton Wright
Notabadspillane travelled down with stable-hand Yori Yamakawa to Christchurch to run in the Group 3 New Zealand Cup ($450,000). The day was nerve-wracking due to the severe weather (hailstorms galore!), and there was genuine concern that the races might not go ahead. Luckily the sun came back out and racing was able to continue. After an awkward start where Notabadspillane jumped away slowly and was at the rear of the field, it looked to be a bad-luck story. However, aided by a brilliant ride from stable jockey Elen Nicholas, they were able to sneak a very cheeky run up the rail and save a lot of ground to sit behind Just Charlie (the race favourite) by the 1600m mark. With 800m to go he looked to be labouring, however as they turned for home he’s come between horses and been so tough and genuine to burst home and run 2nd. A few voices were lost shouting him home, and this was such a huge thrill for owners Chris Faulkner, Hugh Chapman, and Brad Nicholas.
Notabadspillane has had a few well-deserved weeks off and has just come back to the stables to stay out of the terrible weather we’ve been having! He will most likely have one run before lining up in the Wellington Cup on the 31st of January.
Madame Kleptomane had a nice debut run at New Plymouth to finish 4th. She was an absolute superstar and took the whole day in her stride, as if she’d done it all her life! She’s pulled up super and will head to Te Aroha on Sunday, where she’s drawn barrier 3 with our apprentice Elen Nicholas aboard.
It has been an incredible month for our apprentice Elen, who had a career highlight winning her first Group race, the Group 3 Counties Cup on Final Return, trained by Janelle Miller. This ride also earned her the Lance O’Sullivan Award on The Leg Up.
Across the ditch in South Australia, Chur Nibble ran 3rd fresh up after 172 days between races and then backed up 7 days later over 1600m and won in style! He won by 3.75L on the bridle and jockey Ben Price said, "He could’ve won by a lot more." It’s great to see him winning like this and hopefully he can continue on as he showed a lot of promise here in NZ.
Both Enchanted Elle and Hit The Road Jack are still enjoying their summer holidays and look incredible. They will resume work with Simon Wylde in the New Year.
We’ve recently purchased a 5-year-old Ace High mare closely related to Elle and Jack. Falcon High is a trial winner, and we’re not worried at all about her being 5 years old, knowing how much time this family needs - both Jack and Elle didn’t win their maidens until they were 5-year-olds, and between them they’ve won over 20 races now. In fact, it’s a positive for us, as we don’t need to wait for her to mature - she’s educated, currently fit, in work, and ready to go! There are limited shares remaining. Click here for more info
