The NZB Insurance Pearl Series has now been running for five years, and thousands of dollars have been paid out in bonuses in that time.
We are about to post out application forms to all filly owners for the next intake, being all fillies who were born in 2016 who are current yearling fillies.
The scheme is proving to be very popular with filly owners and our members and last week at Rotorua in the 1215 metre Maiden, which carried a B Level Bonus of $11,500, seven of the 12 fillies running were Pearl qualified with a further three on the ballot.
The race was won by Deb (Darci Brahma –Stepping Out) and for good measure the first four home were all Pearl Series nominated.
Following Deb home a mere head away was Nuttee (Ego – Just La Don), with a further three-quarters of a length back to Nellie Bly (Iffraaj[IRE]-Royal Queen) and a nose back to She’stoohottotrot (Showcasing[GB]- The Flying Cat[AUS]).
Deb is owned by Taupo based breeder Pat Lowry and trained for him by his son Guy at Hastings in partnership with Grant Cullen. A delighted Pat picked up the $10,000 winners bonus plus the $500 nominators bonus, while the trainers received a further $1,000 for their role in the win.
“I think the Pearl Series is excellent for breeders and owners, a great idea, I think the price you pay to enter your filly is very fair,” he said.
“This is the first Pearl bonus I have won, and I have put all my fillies in since it started, which is probably a couple every year, and it’s a real bonus if you win, and I reckon I would have easily got my money plus a bit more.”
By Darci Brahma out of the Pins (AUS) mare Stepping Out herself a three-quarter sister to the champion Hong Kong Sprinter Ambitious Dragon, Deb was having her fifth race day start and her second attempt at a Pearl Bonus. Her first attempt was last December, and following one other start in January she was put aside until November this year. Her win came at her second start in this preparation.
Second place getter Nuttee raced by her breeders Auckland Branch member Garry Pye and his wife Nicole, along with her trainer Mark Brosnan and his wife Yvonne. Nuttee has had only four race day starts and three of those have been in Pearl races.
Nellie Bly was making her debut at Rotorua for Waikato branch member Peter Bruce who bred the filly and races her in partnership with Chequers NZ Ltd, and she is trained at Cambridge by Mark Fraser-Campin and Chris Campin.
The NZB Insurance Pearl Series offers bonuses to the winners of 215 two-year-old, three-year-old and four-year-old races of each series, comprising: 20 Saturday fillies' and mares' races (Level A), 180 midweek fillies' and mares' races (Level B) and 15 specified open sex two-year-old races (Level C).
The bonuses for each eligible winning filly or mare are paid as follows: Level A $17,000 to the owner, $2,000 to the trainer, and $1,000 to the nominator of the horse to the series. Level B the bonuses for each eligible winning filly or mare are paid as follows: $10,000 to the owner, $1,000 to the trainer, $500 to the nominator of the horse to the series.
Level C the bonuses for each eligible winning filly are paid as follows: $7,000 to the owner, $700 to the trainer and $300 to the nominator of the horse to the series. - Michelle Saba
