Syndicator Go Racing are looking for their standout juvenile Velocious to become the first The NZB Kiwi (1500m) bonus eligible horse in the coming weeks.
On top of the $3.5 million prizemoney on offer in the inaugural running of the slot race, there is also $1 million in bonuses up for grabs, and to be eligible for a share of the bonus pool, a horse must win one of the various bonus eligible races on offer in New Zealand and/or Australia, and also run a top three placing in The NZB Kiwi on Champions Day next year.
The bonus for eligible horses that run a place in The NZB Kiwi will be $600,000 for first, $250,000 for second, and $150,000 for third.
The first bonus eligible race will be the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Trentham on April 6, with first nominations ($287.50) for the two-year-old feature set to close at 4pm on Tuesday, February 20, with the National Racing Bureau.
Go Racing’s Albert Bosma is keen to be part of the action with his star filly Velocious, provided she comes through her next run, the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on March 9, in good order.
Bosma purchased the daughter of Written Tycoon out of Inglewood Stud’s 2023 Book 1 Yearling Sale draft for $190,000 and she has gone on to win three of her four starts for trainer Stephen Marsh, including the $1 million TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m), and placed in the Gr.2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m).
Bosma said she has come through her last start Karaka Millions triumph in fine fettle and is on target for her first tilt at elite-level next month.
“She hasn’t missed a beat. We gave her a week in the paddock and she is back in work now,” Bosma said.
“She will head to the Sistema on the 9th at Ellerslie and she will have a very quiet trial at Taupo the week before. She is spot on for that, we are very happy.
“The Manawatu Sires’ is something we will consider. We will get through the Sistema and post the Sistema we will either turn her out or go to the Manawatu Sires’.
“We have decided that with the bonus that is now on offer with the Sires’ Produce going into the slot race, that is probably going to be a better option rather than heading to Australia with her for one run, which was the other thought.”
Bosma said The NZB Kiwi and the bonuses surrounding the slot race is a great initiative, and will keep horses like Velocious in New Zealand to compete, where historically they would have gone on to campaign across the Tasman.
“There is no doubt that if it wasn’t for the slot race and the bonus that is up, then the Manawatu Sires’ wouldn’t have been on the radar. It would have been the paddock or Australia,” Bosma said.
While Velocious will be Go Racing’s likely sole contender in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce, they hold ambitions of claiming a couple of slots with their youngsters and have earmarked one of their juveniles in particular as one to watch for the future.
“We have got a very smart two-year-old filly that is unraced at the moment called Pinky Pie,” Bosma said. “She won a trial at Taupo beating Captured By Love, who is a Group Two winner and has won three in a row. She wasn’t put under an enormous amount of pressure to do that.
“She has got a lot of ability, but she has just needed to go to the paddock, so we are not going to see her for the Sires’ Produce, but she is a filly that you are going to see a lot of next season.”
With a number of promising juveniles, Go Racing are putting particular thought into The NZB Kiwi slot auction, with 14 available slots to go under the hammer at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka Sales Complex next Tuesday, February 27, at 5.30pm.
“We are pondering that (slot auction) at the moment and are having discussions on whether we will be involved or not,” Bosma said. “It is something that is definitely on our radar."