Saturday double for Ocean Park with Wanless colours to the fore
Racing returned to Ellerslie Racecourse on Saturday, 1 February and it was Oceana Dream who closed out the metropolitan card with a determined victory over 1600m.
Bred and raced by Australian identities Judi and Ron Wanless, who race the dual winner Centennial Park (Super Seth) in Australia with Tony and Calvin McEvoy, the three-year-old filly made it back-to-back wins taking Ridefromtheashes right to the line two lengths on the field.
This was her second win for trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood who earlier in the week bought a yearling daughter of Ocean Park from Book 1 of the NZB Karaka Yearling Sale.
Meanwhile, in New Plymouth, the Tony Pike-trained Lanikai (ex Oahu) put in an enormous performance sitting mid-field throughout the 1800m journey to circle the field, balance up and power home recording the fastest sectionals in the final three furlongs.
The son of Ocean Park was a $165,000 graduate of the Waikato Stud draft bought by Pike Racing.
The Corner with Garry Chittick
The writing of my Corner started many years ago, motivated by an irritation that I felt needed scratching. It was never my intention to make my commentary regular; neither did I intend to reinvent the direction of racing administration. It is both disappointing and ironical that what should be a simple, straightforward business provides a regular need for comment.
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Ocean Park’s With Grace seals NZ Cup berth
South Auckland mare With Grace secured her berth in next month’s Gr.3 Martin Collins New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton when extending her winning sequence to four with victory in the Baker Tilly Staples Rodway 2100 at Te Rapa on Labour Day Monday.
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