It will be an anxious few weeks for the connections of State The Obvious as they wait to see if their filly makes the cut for the $1 million TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie on January 24.
The daughter of Sword Of State made a strong play at Te Aroha on Saturday when winning the Mark Anderson Memorial Maiden 2YO (1000m), with her $10,360 winning cheque bringing her earnings to $11,285, placing her in 20th position in order of entry for the Karaka Millions, meaning she will require plenty of luck to make the 14-horse field as the current sixth emergency.
“That (Karaka Millions) is the reason why we ran yesterday,” said Graham Richardson, who trains the filly in partnership with Rogan Norvall. “We thought if she could handle it (wet track) and win, then we are a chance (of making the Karaka Millions field), but if we step back and scratch we were no chance.
“It was all about experience as well. She has pulled up this morning like she never had a race, which is incredible for a two-year-old.”
While State The Obvious is an outside shot of qualifying for the rich feature, her trainers are not tempted to give her another run in the lead-up in a last-ditch effort to make the field, and have set their sights to their home track for an alternative.
“If I have to panic and give her another run before then it is just not worth it,” Richardson said.
“There are still a couple of races to go and if she doesn’t get into the Karaka Million then she will head to the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.2, 1200m) as a back-up plan.”
Richardson was pleased with State The Obvious’ second-up victory, having finished fourth behind subsequent Group Two performer Lara Antipova over 1150m at Te Aroha last month.
“She is a really nice filly,” he said. “It was very heavy and I was quite unsure of how she would handle it, but she was probably the biggest horse in the field and she is very strong.
“She will just get better and better, she has got a good action and she is very laidback. She is a lovely, kind horse.”
Bred by Cambridge Stud, State The Obvious was purchased out of their 2025 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft by Richardson and Brendon McCullum for $170,000.
Cambridge Stud retained a share in the filly and she races in their familiar black and gold silks.
State The Obvious could be a part of a strong line-up for the stable at Ellerslie on Karaka Millions night, with both Lollapalooza and Fleeting Star heading towards the $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m).
Both fillies placed in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, and Richardson said they have come through the race well and have enjoyed a short freshen-up prior to their lucrative target.
“They have come through the run really well,” he said. “I gave them a few days off out in the paddock. They are both back in work and they are both heading towards the Karaka Three-Year-Old Mile.”
While Group One winner and $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) contender Lollapalooza has captured the limelight between the pair, Richardson has been rapt with Fleeting Star’s progression since making her debut in August, with the filly finishing in the money in all six of her starts to date.
“She is a very sensible filly and she is tough,” he said.
New Year’s Day victor Romilly, another Karaka purchase by Richardson and McCullum, is also set to head to Ellerslie on Karaka Millions night where the Jo Giles Stakes (1400m) looms as her target.
“Some of these horses that Baz (McCullum) and I are buying are now winning races and it is a great thrill,” Richardson said.
“We will probably go to Karaka Million night to the fillies and mares 1400m with her (Romilly). It is going to be a strong field but we will put a set of blinkers on her.”