Karaka Graduates Fight Out Easter Cup Finish

Saturday’s $50,000 Listed Christchurch Casino Easter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton was dominated by Karaka graduates, who went clear of the rest of the field and fought out an exciting finish.

The $44,000 Festival Sale purchase Who Dares Wins (NZ) (Iffraaj) came out on top, powering home out wide on the track with big bounds to reel in the quality mares Residential (NZ) (Pins) and Contessa Vanessa (NZ) (Bullbars).

Who Dares Wins was ridden by Samantha Wynne for West Melton trainers Tony and Lyn Prendergast.

“It’s four months since he last raced, so it hasn’t been easy,” Tony Prendergast said. “He’d had a couple of trials, but not against much competition.

“We weren’t overly confident coming into today. We knew he was well, but our big worry was that he wasn’t quite as seasoned as the others. But everything worked out in the finish and Sam rode him beautifully.”

It was a first stakes win for Who Dares Wins, who has now had 47 starts for seven wins, 13 placings and $193,163 in prize-money – more than four times his purchase price. He is raced by J & D Lory, G Dawson, L Power, P Ross, N Sikma, C & K Norton-Taylor, B Fuller, B Hollands, S Rush, B Agnew, M & S Wells, L Allan, A Tallott and S Cunningham.

Who Dares Wins had previously recorded black-type placings in the Group 3 Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m) and the Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m).

The runner-up was Residential, who won the Group 3 South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) in her previous start. Passed in at the 2015 Premier Sale with a $60,000 reserve, she has now earned $262,000 with nine wins and eight placings from 37 starts.

Third-placed Contessa Vanessa was bought for $50,000 at the 2016 Select Sale. A multiple Group winner, she has now had 33 starts for five wins, 14 placings and $322,841 in stakes.