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Tiley taking aim at summer features with Play That Song; Eight Carat for Anna; Caulfield start for Impecunious; Stable change for Mo’unga; IFHA release horse welfare standards
Tiley taking aim at summer features with Play That Song
Pukekohe trainer Nigel Tiley has summer features in mind for talented filly Play That Song.
A winner of the Gr.2 Barneswood Farm Eclipse Stakes (1200m) as a juvenile, Play That Song finished third on Saturday when resuming at Te Rapa.
"She is good and has come through that race well," Tiley said. "She is heading for the Uncle Remus (Listed, 1400m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day."
The daughter of Showcasing is then likely to return to Ellerslie for the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m) on January 23, aiming to go one better than her performance on the night last year where she was runner-up in the Karaka Million (1200m) for two-year-olds.
Play That Song also holds a nomination for the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) but is more likely to take aim at the lion's share of $1 million at Ellerslie.
"I think that is the best option for her," Tiley said. "The timing is good."
"She worked on Monday like she hadn't raced on Saturday. We will probably be a bit behind the eight ball with her, it would have been nice to get a run into her two weeks earlier than what we did."
Eight Carat for Anna
Smart three-year-old filly Sweet Anna is nearing a raceday return after trialing well at Te Aroha on Monday.
The well-bred daughter of Tavistock was initially on a path to the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) but was thwarted by a foot abscess just days out from the race, forcing trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman to abort a trip to Christchurch.
Raced by breeder Sir Patrick and Lady Justine Hogan, Sweet Anna has had just the four starts, breaking maiden ranks at second time of asking and placing in the Gr.3 Hawke's Bay Breeders' Gold Trail Stakes (1200m).
A sister to Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) winner Tavago, Sweet Anna will resume in the Gr.2 Jamieson Park Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.
Caulfield start for Impecunious
Leviathan owner Ozzie Kheir is looking forward to watching Kiwi recruit Impecunious step out in Melbourne this week.
The daughter of Sacred Falls will line up at Caulfield on Wednesday for trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young in what will be her first Australian start.
Prepared by Michael and Matthew Pitman in New Zealand, Impecunious was the subject of a number of overseas offers after winning impressively at Riccarton in June. Original owner Chris Griffin remains in the ownership.
Compared to the prices paid for European imports these days, her sale price was modest, but Kheir, who this spring won a Caulfield Cup with Kiwi-bred mare Verry Elleegant and a Cox Plate with European import Sir Dragonet, admitted he prefers shopping for fillies in New Zealand rather than paying the huge dollars for horses from the other side of the world.
"It's better than paying $1 million for these European horses," Kheir said.
"We keep trying to buy another Verry Elleegant and we've picked up a couple of New Zealand fillies but realistically, we think there's good upside to this filly and we're hoping we can see that this week."
Impecunious, who has a pedigree to suggest she will be best over ground, being out of a stakes-placed Zabeel daughter of Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) winner Honor Babe, will contest a 1200m event at Caulfield with Damien Oliver booked to ride.
The three-year-old filly has thrived of late after taking some time to settle in when she arrived in spring.
"She arrived from New Zealand and she just needed a few weeks off, but her work since she has come back from her break has been what we would expect," Kheir said.
"She has put on weight and she's a happy horse.
"We bought her after a couple of runs. She was very green and immature and we're hoping there is a lot of improvement in her as she didn't win anything of quality, but she showed she might be able to take the next step.
"We paid a little bit of a premium on what she might get through the ring today, but I still think we got her at a really good price and she only has to be a Listed filly to pay for herself."
Kheir will be keeping a close eye on New Zealand's feature racing over the coming months as he part-owns another promising three-year-old filly in the Michael Moroney and Pam Gerrard-trained Tokorangi.
"We are aiming at the New Zealand Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m) and then she will come for the ATC Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m) and we will see from there, her being a long-term prospect," he said.
Stable change for Mo'unga
Stakes winner Mo'unga will do his future racing under the care of Annabel Neasham.
Trained by Chris Waller to win three starts including the Listed Dulcify Stakes (1500m) in the spring, Mo'unga represents a big opportunity for new trainer Neasham who formerly worked for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace before going out on her own in earlier this year.
Mo'unga, who races in the silks of Aquis Farm, was purchased out of Waikato Stud's 2019 New Zealand Book 1 draft for $325,000.
IFHA release horse welfare standards
Following the lead of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) has this week released its horse welfare standards.
The Welfare Committee of the IFHA created the minimum guidelines drawing from work undertaken in New Zealand which resulted in the release of the New Zealand Welfare Assessment Guidelines in October 2019.
Welfare Committee chairman Jamie Stier, who led the IFHA work, emphasized that the IFHA Standards, created for a global audience, represent the minimum standard expected.
"We encourage everyone to go above and beyond, "he said.
In undertaking its work on this document, which the IFHA expects racing jurisdictions around the world to refer to when establishing their own horse welfare practices, the IFHA called upon the expertise of Professor Emeritus David Mellor.
Prof Mellor, the Foundation Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, played a significant part in the development of the New Zealand Welfare Standards.
NZTR GM Welfare & Sustainability, Martin Burns, who drove the development of the New Zealand Welfare Standards over a two-year period prior to their release last October, said it was pleasing to see them now being used to help create a starting point for other racing jurisdictions.
"NZTR was fortunate during the development of the NZ guidelines to have worked in partnership with Professor Emeritus David Mellor, who is globally recognised in the animal welfare field. His input, along with that of other skilled veterinarians and industry stakeholder groups, was greatly appreciated," Burns said.
"Our Thoroughbred Welfare Guidelines are created around the Five Domains model of equine welfare which defines optimal provisions and aims to reduce avoidable negative experiences and ensure our horses enjoy a life worth living."
As part of NZTR's welfare strategy amendments have also been made to the Rules of Racing to allow for better traceability of thoroughbreds from birth to death.
In addition to the 30-day foal notification introduced earlier this year, NZTR now requires every horse to have an "accountable person" who takes responsibility for the appropriate rehoming of their horse following its racing career.
The New Zealand Welfare Standards can be found here:
https://loveracing.nz/OnHorseFiles/NZTR%20Thoroughbred%20Welfare%20Guidelines%202020%20Final.pdf
