The Party Stand Provides Another G.1 for Thorn Park

The Party Stand Provides Another G.1 for Thorn Park

A last minute change of plans by trainer Roger James has proven a smart move as The Party Stand raced away to her first Group 1 victory in the $200,000 Nicolas Feuillatte New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on Saturday.

Roger James decided late on Tuesday afternoon that the Australian bound flight would leave without The Party Stand (Thorn Park x Cremisi) as Roger decided that a tilt at the Group 1 weight-for-age New Zealand Stakes was the right option for the mare.

"She worked very well on the Tuesday morning and I was very happy with the way she had been going.

"The truck arrived later in the afternoon to pick her up, and after a big discussion and looking at the nominations for the race, we decided that she would stay in New Zealand and head for the New Zealand Stakes.

"We were very pleased with her run. We were confident coming into the race that she would put in a good performance and we got the result which is great.

"She has come through the race in good order so now we need to sit down and discuss future plans. There are a lot of options on the table and we want to have a good look at them all, but Brisbane could be on the cards a bit later in the season. For now we will just see how see goes."

The mare came into the race in good form after winning the Listed Trac Stakes at Matamata over 2000 metres late last month. On Saturday she proved again to be too strong in the concluding stages, beating the Stephen McKee trained mare Adaline (Court Of Jewels) by a long neck.

The NZB graduate and 2009/2010 NZ Horse of the Year Vosne Romanee (Electronic Zone), the winner of the race last year, ran an improved third after finally drawing a good alley for trainer Jeff Lynds.

The Party Stand continues a sensational run of success by her sire Thorn Park who had two stakes winners in the weekend with Magic Briar also winning at Listed level on Saturday. The son of Spinning World is now the sire of two Group 1 winners, the other being his outstanding NZ Derby winning son Jimmy Choux.

It was also a great weekend for Windsor Park Stud who not only stands Thorn Park, but also sold The Party Stand and Magic Briar.

The Party Stand is the tenth individual Group 1 winner for New Zealand Bloodstock this season, and the sixth from the Karaka Select Sale. The four-year-old was bred by Mrs M P Trotter and was purchased by her trainer Roger James from Windsor Park Stud at the 2009 Karaka Select Sale for $27,500.

Better Than Ever Dubai Bound

Singapore superstar Better Than Ever continued his Dubai bound campaign in style last night at Kranji with a record-breaking win in the Sgp-3 Polytrack Mile Championship (1600m).

In what proved to be a stiff contest, champion trainer Laurie Laxon and the Jupiter Stable were able to breathe a sigh of relief as Better Than Ever (French Deputy x Songfest) crossed the line for his 13th win.

Missing the start, Better Than Ever was forced to race from the back of the field, and at the 800 metre mark, regular race jockey Saimee Jumaat brought the four-year-old through the field before taking him wide on the turn. Looking well covered at the furlong marker, Better Than Ever dough deep and ran down his rivals, winning by just over a length-and-a-half.

The win saw the son of French Deputy break the track record running the 1600 metres in a slick 1.37.69. Trainer Laurie Laxon was understandably pleased with the outcome.

"Well, he sure gave us a bit of a fright, especially at the start. We'll need to take a look at that, but never mind, he got home. It was still a game win.

"That race will certainly trim him up. It's taken a bit of work to get him where we wanted.

"He's leaving (for Dubai) next Saturday and the plan is just to keep him ticking over when he gets there."

Better Than Ever holds a nomination for the coveted Group 1 Dubai Duty Free (1800m) on March 26, a race where he will meet another flying NZB graduate, the power house Beauty Flash (Golan).

Better Than Ever has now won 13 of his 14 starts and over S$1.6 million on the track and was purchased by his trainer Laurie Laxon from Blandford Lodge at the 2008 Karaka Premier Sale for $80,000.

Magic Briar Shows her Class

A large and talented field for the $45,000 Listed Starcraft at Arrowfield Mr Tiz Trophy (1200m) was not enough to stop the brilliant filly Magic Briar from notching up her first black-type win at Ellierslie on Saturday.

With a big rap on the filly coming into the Listed event, the Ken & Bev Kelso trained Magic Briar (Thorn Park x Alberton Magic) was sent out a short priced favourite and justified her support on the tote with a strong win in one of the features on the card.

Being dealt a bitter hand last campaign in her NZB 1000 Guineas tilt, the daughter of Thorn Park looks to be well on her way to making amends, kicking away from the field in the concluding stages of the race to win by a length in the hands of Opie Bosson.

New Zealand Bloodstock graduates provided the race trifecta with Sweet Suitor (Bachelor Duke) and Hammer Down (O'Reilly) running into the minors.

Already boasting an impressive track record, the win has taken the three-year-old's winning tally to five from just nine race day appearances, and taken her stakes earnings to over $68,000.

An astute purchase by Donna Logan, Magic Briar was bought from Windsor Park Stud at the 2009 Select Sale for only $9,000.

No Choice Takes the NZB Insurance Stakes

The John Sargent trained No Choice proved too strong for her rivals in the $45,000 Listed NZB Insurance Stakes (1400m) at the NZB Insurance day at Wingatui on Saturday.

The race was the second leg of the NZB Southern Filly of the Year Series and saw a big field of fillies take to the course. But it was the performance of No Choice (Coats Choice x Winkum) that left the field standing, as she came from mid-field and very wide on the turn to swamp the field as she flew down the outside for jockey Jamie Bullard.

Coming into the race off back-to-back wins, the daughter of Coats Choice was almost untouched on the tote, paying $27 for the win, but the fashion in which she won the race suggests there could be plenty more wins from the three-year-old.

Running into second was the beautifully bred filly The Glitzy One (Flying Spur x The Jewel) who also came from well back in the field with a strong finish, with Five Coats (Coats Choice x Electric Avenue) running third.

No Choice is the second stakes winner by her sire Coats Choice with Milo winning the Listed Otago and Gore Guineas. The son of Redoute's Choice has made a solid start to his stud career and boasts six winners and eight placings from only 21 starters.

Coats Choice also has two runners heading up to Singapore to be trained by Laurie Laxon, and another youngster who has shown ability in the trials heading to David Hall in Hong Kong. Coats Choice stands at Berkley Stud, at a fee of $3,500 + GST in 2010.

No Choice's win has taken her to first-equal in the NZB Southern Filly of the Year Series, sharing the lead with Princess Emmy on seven points. The Glitzy One has earned three points for her second placing with Five Coats earning one point for third.

The next leg of the Southern Filly of the Year Series is the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1600m) on April 9 at Riccarton. To view the current points table and the Series racing calendar, click here.

Kudakulari Back in the Winners Circle

It has been a long time between wins but the Bart Cummings trained Kudakulari is back to winning form after resuming from a spell in the A$100,000 Listed Canberra Guineas (1400m).

Showing plenty of promise as a two-year-old, Kudakulari (Savabeel x Oenotria) won the Listed Fernhill Handicap at Randwick last season but has since struggled on the track.

The Bart Cummings trained three-year-old was seen as a promising Derby prospect but failed to come on in the spring with heavy tracks hindering his efforts. The three-year-old son of the Cox Plate winner Savabeel has since been gelded and looked in good shape in Sunday's race, defeating the favourite Sworn To Secrecy by a growing half-a-length margin in the hands of Corey Brown.

The three-year-old's next start is likely to be the Group 3 Frank Packer Plate (2000m) on April 23 at Randwick on Sydney Cup day.

Waikato Stud's resident sire Savabeel had two stakes winners on the weekend with his daughter Do Ra Mi winning the Group 2 Kewney Stakes in emphatic fashion, beating fellow kiwi and Group 1 VRC Oaks winner, Brazilian Pulse.

Kudakulari was bought by the master trainer Bart Cummings from Little Avondale Stud at the 2009 Karaka Premier Sale for $140,000 and has earned his connections over A$140,000 in stakes earnings.

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