Three-year-olds that contested New Zealand’s richest ever race, the NZB Kiwi, in March are set to be seen across Australia and Hong Kong in the months ahead
Most notably, Public Attention – winner of the G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) and placed in both the G2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (1200m) and the G3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) – has been sold to Hong Kong and will go into training with David Hayes.
The grey, a son of Written Tycoon out of a daughter of champion New Zealand filly Katie Lee, finished eighth in The Kiwi. It was the only time he has missed the top five in his eight starts to date.
“I think he’s a wonderful acquisition for Hong Kong,” co-trainer Michael Kent Jnr told Idol Horse. “He’s a very well-mannered colt, he’s so genuine. He’s got one of the nicer temperaments I’ve worked with in a colt; he’s so willing to please, he wants to listen to his handler or his rider. He’s very relaxed, but when you ask him to go fast, he can really quicken.
“He’s a very nice horse and I think he was still on an upward trajectory with us. We were yet to see the best of him, he was still maturing, but he managed to get to a Caulfield Guineas in his first preparation. In the race in New Zealand (The Kiwi), it just didn’t work out for him from a wide draw, but he was very good after that in the Arrowfield when the pace was against him.
“I think he’s going to make a wonderful sprinter-miler in Hong Kong, he’s got the soundness, he’s got the temperament and, above all, he’s got the ability. He’s a big, strong, fast horse with scope and I think he’ll be a lot of fun there for his new owners. And I’m sure he will prove popular as a wonderful looking grey, you won’t miss him.”
Public Attention joins the list of high-profile colts to have departed Coolmore’s Australian racing operation. Group 1 winners Switzerland and Private Life and high-profile acquisition Storm Boy have all been retired to Coolmore Australia.
Meanwhile, NZB Kiwi winner Damask Rose has joined Te Akau Racing’s Australian base and will target the A$10 million Golden Eagle (1500m), for which she earned automatic entry with her March victory.
Damask Rose arrived at Mark Walker’s Cranbourne stables in mid-June and is set to be tested at Group 1 level in Melbourne before heading north for her grand final.
“She spelled very well in New Zealand and she went over to Melbourne about three weeks ago,” Te Akau principal David Ellis told Idol Horse. “She’s going to have her first start at Caulfield on August 30 in a Group 3 (the Cockram Stakes), then she’ll go to the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, the Toorak Handicap and then the Golden Eagle.
“It’s certainly exciting, that’s for sure. We haven’t had a runner in the Golden Eagle before so we are looking forward to having one this year.”
Damask Rose is one of four New Zealand-trained runners from the NZB Kiwi who have joined Australian stables.
Waikato Stud-owned gelding Sought After, who finished fourth for Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, has joined Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman and will be given his chance to aim up at the Golden Eagle. A return to New Zealand for their summer program remains a possibility.
Penman (ninth), a winner of four of his last five starts, has joined the growing number of Go Racing horses in training with Chris Waller while star South Island filly Pivotal Ten (13th) is now at Ben, Will and JD Hayes’ Euroa headquarters.
There were also three Australian trainees who lined up in Ellerslie in March: Evaporate (second) and Perfumist (fifth) both finished ahead of Public Attention.
Evaporate, prepared by the Hayes brothers, subsequently won the G3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) at Randwick and is back in work at Euroa with the Golden Eagle his intended target.
Filly Perfumist – who progressed from country tracks like Bathurst and Mudgee to earn a berth in The Kiwi – is also bound for the Golden Eagle, if the Bjorn Baker-trained filly can land a stakes win during the spring.
Among those left to fly the flag at home are third-placed Checkmate, sixth Sethito and 10th Hankee Alpha – all in the hands of O’Sullivan and Scott.
“Checkmate is back in work and he looks great,” Scott said. “We gave him a good long break after the Rosehill Guineas and we’re hoping to target the G1 Tarzino Trophy over 1400m in the first week of September. His performance there will dictate which way we go with him throughout the season but he has furnished and he looks great.
“Sethito, we’ve given her a long break. Look, she had a busy three-year-old year and we didn’t want to hurry her back – quite often, it’s tough for them to come back against the four-year-olds so we’re hoping she might chime in over the summer months. She’s developed and grown so well out at Waikato Stud.
“And then Hankee Alpha, she will come back into work on August 1 and will concentrate on the sprints. She had a really good turn of foot over the shorter trips but she just maybe found the 1400m and 1500m a bridge too far. So we’ll look to the sprints with her.”
The NZB Kiwi, restricted to horses bred or conceived in New Zealand or those sold through a New Zealand Bloodstock sale, was the country’s first slot race and was worth NZ$3.5 million (US$2.13 million) in its first year. It will rise to NZ$4 million (US$2.44 million) in 2026. ∎
