Shopaholic Makes Dream Come True

21 February 2012

When South Island breeders Grant and Philippa McKenzie decided on a short trip to Melbourne, they never dreamt they would end up on the dais at Flemington.

“We decided to head to Melbourne to see Rod Stewart and Black Caviar. So I rang my good friend Mark Chittick of Waikato Stud to see if he knew how we might go about getting some tickets for Flemington,” said Grant.

“Well, he got back to me and said he had jacked up some tickets and that he hoped we would bring him luck, as we would actually be representing Waikato Stud as the owners of Shopaholic (Pins) in the Gr.3 Vanity.”

Haven placed second in the race with Do Ra Mi (Savabeel) and Be Delicious (Danasinga), the McKenzie’s delivered this luck in spades for Waikato.

“It was a great run,” observed Grant.

“She was being hammered from the $1.40 hotpot Mosheen on one side and from Angel of Mercy on the other, but in that final 100m Shopaholic just bullocked her way through and got up in the very last stride.”

As the successful owners of the Gr.3 Wakefield Challenge Stakes winner Zablinka (Zabeel), the occasion was not lost on the McKenzie’s.

“I never dreamt that on our first trip to Flemington, we would see Black Caviar win one of her best, or end up on the dais accepting a trophy and sipping champagne in the Presidents Lounge!”

“To be honest, we felt very privileged to simply be in the parade ring before the race, let alone in the winner’s circle. It was a bit of a dream really”.

Porcia Catonis powers home as Super Seth’s rise continues

Super Seth’s strong run continues with Porcia Catonis, who delivered a dominant win at Riccarton for Fortuna Racing. The lightly raced filly is now a two-time winner and adds to a stellar season for her sire, who boasts three Group 1 winners and a 4.34% G1 winners-to-runners strike rate.

28 May 2025

Gutsy bebut win for Ardrossan’s Macallan

Ardrossan’s son Macallan impressed on debut in Thursday’s opener at Tauranga, overcoming Heavy10 conditions to win the Tierra Maiden 3YO (1200m) by 1.3 lengths. Trained by Wexford Stables and racing for JML Bloodstock, the gelding showed toughness and class to finish strongly before the meeting was abandoned due to weather.