Triumphant Turnaround for Scott Base (NZ)

After two years of injuries and frustration, quality Karaka graduate Scott Base (NZ) (Dalghar) showed his true colours in the $100,000 Group 2 Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga on Saturday.

Bought for $70,000 at the 2016 Select Sale at Karaka, Scott Base was a star three-year-old, winning the $1m Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) and the Group 2 Wellington Guineas (1400m).

But an injury kept him on the sidelines from October 2018 until November 2019, and the highly talented gelding had struggled to recapture his best form in his first five starts back.

That all changed on Saturday. Aided by a perfect ride from Danielle Johnson, Scott Base trailed the front-runner The Mitigator (Master of Design) before coming out off his back at the top of the straight.

For the first time since his three-year-old season, Scott Base showed his scintillating turn of foot and soared to the front, winning by two and three-quarter lengths.

Now trained by Jamie Richards for owners Chris Rutten, John Norwood and Joanna and John Frew, Scott Base has had 21 starts for five wins, five placings and $734,750 in stakes – more than 10 times his purchase price.

“I was thrilled to see him win like that and the owners have been very patient,” Richards said. “He came up to us because he’d developed a few issues that require managing and he spends plenty of time on the treadmill and in the swimming pool.

“He’d freshened really well with a month between runs and back in trip, with a hood on, and he sprinted well. 

“It was a nice ride by Danielle (Johnson), particularly to get him out of the barriers and away with the field because he had been missing the kick. But he was on the job there and sprinted away from them.

“The team at the colt barn have done a great job with him and I’m stoked for everyone involved.”