Karaka Graduates Shine in New Zealand Horse of the Year Awards
27 August 2018
Graduates of the Karaka sales complex had a spectacular night at Sunday’s New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards in Auckland, scooping seven awards including a second Horse of the Year title for Bonneval (NZ) (Makfi).
Trained by Murray Baker for owners Terry Jarvis, Alastair Lawrence and John Rattray, Bonneval added the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) in Melbourne to her victories in the previous season’s Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and Australian Oaks (2400m).
She has won seven of her 12 starts and $1.68 million in prizemoney – more than 10 times her $150,000 purchase price at the 2015 Premier Sale.
In addition to her back-to-back Horse of the Year wins, Bonneval was also voted Champion Middle-Distance Horse (1601-2200m).
Karaka graduates also dominated the age-group categories. Victories in the Karaka Million (1200m) and Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) earned Champion Two-Year-Old honours for the $210,000 Premier Sale purchase Avantage (Fastnet Rock), trained by Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards for the Te Akau Avantage Syndicate.
The Champion Three-Year-Old was Savvy Coup (NZ) (Savabeel), who was bought for $65,000 at the 2016 Premier Sale. The father-son training combination of Michael and Matthew Pitman guided Savvy Coup to victories in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m), Group 3 Lowland Stakes (2100m) and Group 3 Eulogy Stakes (1550m), along with placings in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) and Group 1 Levin Classic (1600m). She earned more than $468,000 in prizemoney for her owners, the Bruford and Coupland families.
Champion Stayer was Charles Road (Myboycharlie), trained by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott for Archer Equine Investments Ltd. The $90,000 Premier Sale purchase won the Group 2 Chairmans Quality (2600m) in Sydney and the Group 3 City of Auckland Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie, and he placed in the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) to take his earnings past $650,000.
The $37,500 South Island Sale purchase Wise Men Say (NZ) (Yamanin Vital) was Champion Jumper, while Dijon Bleu (NZ) (Burgundy), bought for $26,000 at the 2016 Select Sale, was already confirmed as New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year following her victories in the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m), Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) and Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic (2000m).