Timely win by Tuxedo as half-brother is offered as Lot 298 at Karaka

The mounting yard at Ellerslie on Karaka Millions evening was a sea of black and white ahead of Race 3, the $1 million Gr.3 Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic, with a large group of owners hoping their runner, aptly named Tuxedo (ex Ball Gown), would do them proud. And that he did!

The Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray-trained four-year-old was lining up for his 12th race start and with this win took his record to five wins for $1,037,235 prizemoney.

Ritchie said post-race: “He has always shown us plenty of ability, and I felt the blinkers would help him.”

“You don’t give Opie Bosson instructions on Karaka Million night,” he said.

“I did say one thing in that when you do go for him, I think the blinkers will swich him on like they did in trackwork last week.

“I’d love to have a little crack in Australia with this horse but we will stay at home now where maybe the Otaki mile (Gr.1, 1600m) and Bonecrusher Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m) would be nice targets.”

A win in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on March 7 would be a poignant moment for Ritchie, who was the strapper for the champion galloper the race is named after.

Bought from Waikato Stud’s draft, Tuxedo was a $70,000 purchase at Book 1 of Karaka 2023 and is raced by Grant Barnette, Peter Archer, Bill Coates, Don Cotter, Murray Wills, Chloe Cumming and Doug Paulin.

Waikato Stud will offer a half-brother by their emerging super sire, Super Seth, as Lot 298 on Day 2 of the 2026 NZB Karaka yearling Sale.