Photo: Trish Dunell
The second running of the $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie on Saturday is already a major triumph for Karaka nursery Haunui Farm.
The stud has a remarkable five graduates chasing the richest prize in Australasia for three-year-olds with Romanoff (NZ) (Belardo), He Who Dares (NZ) (Snitzel), L’Aigle Noir (NZ) (Ribchester), War Princess (NZ) (U S Navy Flag) and Lollapalooza (NZ) (El Roca) in contention for the Southern Hemisphere’s richest three-year-old race.
“The amazing thing is that it’s a different style of race, someone has to pick your horse and it’s not just up to the handicapper,” Haunui’s Mark Chitty said.
“I think all five justifiably deserve to be in the race, they have all showed nice form from a Group One winner to a Rating 67 in L’Aigle Noir, who was a bit unlucky in the Uncle Remus (Gr.3, 1400m).
“To run a farm, you’re doing it 365 days of the year in all types of weather and circumstances, so we are very proud.
“We’ve got some wonderful clients who have bred some of these horses as well as ourselves, that are in the race.”
The top-rated Haunui graduate is the Pam Gerard-trained Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) winner Romanoff.
The son of Belardo was bred by Marie Leicester and sold through Haunui’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale for $75,000 to Ballymore Stables, Paul Moroney Bloodstock and Catheryne Bruggeman.
Te Akau’s multiple stakes-placed Snitzel colt He Who Dares was bred by Haunui with Frantic Bloodstock and knocked down at Karaka to David Ellis for $825,000.
U S Navy Flag’s Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m) winner War Princess was sold to trainer Peter Didham and Exempt Bloodstock for $77,500 by Haunui on behalf of breeders Don and Dame Wendy Pye.
The couple also bred El Roca’s daughter Lollapalooza, winner of the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m), who was secured at Karaka for $30,000 and signed for by co-trainer Graham Richardson and Social Racing.
The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained L’Aigle Noir is a daughter of Haunui’s resident sire Ribchester and represents one of the feelgood stories of The NZB Kiwi.
“He was bred by Anne Marie de Spa and Charles Hall from Christchurch and Anne Marie has the Sothys Australasian franchise and they sponsored the 2000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) for close to a decade,” Chitty said.
“The mare (Silhouette Noire) had a chequered breeding career and unfortunately lost a foal and got quite ill after that.
“She came to us and we couldn’t get her right, so I involved Dr Lee Morris from EquiBreed, and being a veterinarian myself, said we needed to scope the mare’s uterus.
“We did that and found something on the lining and she lasered that area and the resulting progeny of all that was L’Aigle Noir.
“With veterinary intervention and the work of Lee and myself we’ve got this horse, and Anne Marie and Charles asked me to come into the ownership, and we’ve got a full brother back on the ground. It’s a pretty cool story.”
L’Aigle Noir broke his maiden before finishing third in the Gr.3 Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m) and a last-start fourth in the Uncle Remus after an interrupted run.
“He’s an emerging horse and wasn’t out early and the Wexford team have taken him along quietly,” Chitty said.
“You can’t deny Well Written has been sensational in her performances and she might just be way too good for them.
“It is a horse race though, and we’ve seen before and we’ll see it again that not all $1.20 favourites win races, so we’ll take our chance and see what happens.”
Haunui graduate slot holders: Romanoff, Canterbury Jockey Club; He Who Dares, Te Akau Racing; L’Aigle Noir, Waikato Thoroughbred Racing; War Princess, Milan Park and Lollapalooza, Barneswood Brady Nakhle.
