Time Flies has been unbeaten in two trial appearances and will bid to give his Little Avondale Stud-based sire his first Southern Hemisphere winner when he steps out at Pukekohe Park on Wednesday.
The son of Time Test was co-bred by the Wairarapa nursery, who retained an ownership interest in the two-year-old after he was knocked down to Chris Rutten for $115,000 at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale at Karaka.
Trained by Jamie Richards, Time Flies will be partnered by Opie Bosson when he makes his debut in the Dunstan Recovery Mash Juvenile (1000m).
“He has looked very good at the trials and at Taupo he beat a smart filly by the name of Bright Blue Sky, who is a stakes winner now,” Little Avondale’s Sam Williams said.
Bright Blue Sky claimed the Listed Fasttrack Insurance 2YO Stakes (1000m) at Te Rapa at her first appearance and the Richards-trained daughter of Fastnet Rock now looms as a contender for next month’s A$2 million Magic Millions Classic at the Gold Coast.
Time Flies has won both of his trials on Dead surfaces and will have to contend with a much wetter track at Pukekohe Park.
“I hope he’s wearing his wet suit, flippers and a snorkel,” Williams said.
“He looked a precocious type at the yearling sale with a lot of natural muscle and he’s got a cool temperament. He loved everything we did with him as a yearling in the stables.
“Obviously Chris Rutten, who has a great eye for two-year-olds and great connections with the Karaka Million whether it be the two or three-year-old race, and this bloke took his eye.
“Chris and I raced Avonallo and he was quite keen for us to follow suit so I stayed in the horse.”
Avonallo was bred by Little Avondale and the son of Belardo won last season’s Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) and finished third in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m), an obvious goal for Time Flies.
“If you want to target the Karaka Million and you want one of the best trainers in the job and have access to the best jockeys then the Te Akau model is the perfect choice,” Williams said.
“They do a fantastic job and Jamie has been really happy with the horse so far.”
Time Flies is from the family of the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner Planet Rock, and his sire Time Test has proved a popular choice for breeders since undertaking shuttle duty in New Zealand.
“He has been absolutely huge and we’ve got one mare left to scan and, if she is positive, he will have a 90 percent fertility rate, which is just super,” Williams said.
“He’s quite a trick and has a great attitude. He’s a cool dude to do anything with and served 119 mares this year.”
Time Test has produced a quartet of European black-type winners from his Northern Hemisphere base at The English National Stud.
“He’s doing a wonderful job up there and hopefully we can see some nice two-year-olds out here, but whatever they do, they will be much better as three-year-olds – there’s no doubt about that,” Williams said.
“He really is going to be an exciting and interesting horse to follow over the next 12 months.”