New Zealand-breds make spring statement across the Tasman

Despite coming up empty-handed in Melbourne’s first Group One race of the season, New Zealand-breds still made their presence felt in a big way on Saturday as the Victorian and New South Wales spring carnivals gathered momentum.
New Zealand boasts a proud recent history in the season-opening Gr. 1 Memsie Stakes, winning it seven times since 2000 with Sunline (2000, 2001), El Segundo (2006), So You Think (2010), King’s Rose (2011), Humidor (2018) and Mr Brightside (2023).
The Caulfield feature again held a strong Kiwi influence on paper in 2024, with New Zealand able to lay claim to all of the three favourites – defending champion Mr Brightside, Queensland raider Antino and freakish front-runner Pride Of Jenni. The latter was born in Australia but bred by Trelawney Stud. There was another Kiwi contender in the form of the Andrew Forsman-trained Aegon, who had been a close and unlucky fourth in his resuming run two weeks earlier.
But it was the under-rated Street Boss gelding Pinstriped who claimed his maiden Group One victory, with Mr Brightside a gallant second and Antino flashing home late for fourth after a slow start. Pride Of Jenni has a notoriously poor fresh-up record and is expected to take plenty of improvement from her fifth placing, while Aegon was well below his best and finished last.
New Zealand-breds fared far better in some of Saturday’s other black-type features, including a quinella for Cambridge Stud shuttler Almanzor in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes. The race was won in bold front-running style by the highly promising four-year-old Rise At Dawn, who repelled all challengers down the straight – including the Forsman-trained second placegetter Positivity – to win by a long neck.
The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained Rise At Dawn has now had 12 starts for seven wins and two seconds, with the prospect of bigger and better things to come.
“We’ll see how he pulls up, but that will get his rating up enough to maybe sneak into one of those handicap miles,” Ben Hayes said. “We’ll probably look at a Toorak or an Epsom and work towards that with a light weight. This was a very tough effort after he was headed in the straight.”
Rise At Dawn was bred by the Smithies family’s Monovale Holdings and is out of their quality mare Kay’s Awake. The daughter of Towkay herself won six races including the Listed Newmarket Handicap, and her eight black-type placings included the Gr. 1 Telegraph and two editions of the Gr. 1 Waikato Sprint.
Kay’s Awake is the dam of six winners from nine foals to race, with Rise At Dawn her second black-type performer. His full-sister Kay’s Ruebe became the first name on that list earlier this year when she ran third behind Captured By Love in the Gr. 3 Taranaki 2YO Classic.
Heatherlie Stakes runner-up Positivity was a quality three-year-old filly last season, winning the Gr. 3 Sunline Vase at Ellerslie and the Gr. 3 SA Fillies’ Classic in Adelaide and finishing second in the Gr. 1 New Zealand Oaks. She was bred by Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan in partnership with Peter Walker and is the first winner out of the Group One-placed O’Reilly mare Pussy O’Reilly.
According to Arion Pedigrees statistics, Almanzor’s Southern Hemisphere-bred crops now boast a total of 94 winners from 180 runners. Manzoice heads that list courtesy of his victory in the Gr. 1 Victoria Derby, while Positivity, Moonlight Magic, Zabmanzor, Cheval D’Or and Sudbina have all won at Group Three level and Dynastic, Rise At Dawn, Ahuriri and last season’s undefeated two-year-old Nucleozor have been Listed winners. Positivity, Moonlight Magic, Zabmanzor, Dynastic, Virtuous Circle, Andalus, Qali Al Farrasha, Mehzebeen and Blue Solitaire have all recorded Group One placings.
Another notable New Zealand result on Saturday was the bold first-up victory by Quinessa in Caulfield’s Gr. 3 Cockram Stakes.
The Te Akau mare had to carry 60 kilograms against a talented sprinting field, and the 1200-metre distance could be considered short of her best taking a line through her exploits as a three-year-old last season. She won the Gr. 1 Levin Classic over 1600 metres in January, then finished fourth in the Australian Guineas over the same trip before running second in the 2040-metre Gr. 2 Alister Clark Stakes and fourth in the 2400-metre Gr. 1 Australian Oaks.
But Quintessa showed her star quality on Saturday, quickening smartly out of midfield to win with authority. She is now being aimed at the Gr. 1 Empire Rose Stakes at Flemington in November, which was won in 2019 by former star Te Akau mare Melody Belle.
Quintessa was bred by Queensland couple Linda and Graham Huddy’s Peachester Lodge, but she was born and raised at the Hawkins family’s Wentwood Grange before being offered in the Cambridge farm’s 2022 Karaka yearling draft. The daughter of Shamus Award was bought by David Ellis for $170,000 and she has already banked more than $730,000.
Former Cambridge Stud stallion Tavistock sired a notable interstate double on Saturday, with Young Werther winning at Caulfield and Ceolwulf making a big impression at Rosehill.
Five-time Group One placegetter Young Werther is now likely to be given another shot at elite level in next month’s Turnbull Stakes.
Last season’s Australian Derby and Rosehill Guineas placegetter Ceolwulf was being aimed at the 2400-metre Gr. 1 Metropolitan Handicap, but may have changed trainer Joe Pride’s mind with his performance on Saturday.
“To see him do something like that so early in the spring, it is hard not to get excited,” he said. “I was a little bit surprised by that. I would have been happy to see him grinding home, but that shows he might be a bit sharper. It opens up a few more options.”