Te Akau racing dominated the juvenile event at Te Rapa on Saturday with debutant Tokyo Tycoon heading home a Mark Walker-trained trifecta in the SkyCity Hamilton Waikato Cup Day 10 Dec 2YO (1100m) bringing a timely pedigree update for his Karaka bound yearling half-sister.
The flashy gelding by popular young Deep Impact sire Satono Aladdin was sent out favourite on the back of a strong trial win and comfortably held stablemates She Turns Heads and Talisker, while the Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall-trained To Catch A Thief was only beaten 1.2 lengths in fourth.
Winning jockey Michael McNab said the youngster was push-button.
“He’s a little ripper and took it all in like an open handicapper,” he said. “He never lost focus and stuck to the task and chased and chased. When he got past the second horse he kept going on, too.
“Opie (Bosson) won on him at the trials and gave him a good push and he very rarely gets it wrong. Troy (Harris) rides in work and said the same thing and they’re good judges.”
Matamata horseman Mark Walker said Tokyo Tycoon will have a light campaign before contesting the Doubletree By Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) at Pukekohe on January 21.
“He’s a nice horse going forward and I think the first four horses home have actually all got potential,” Walker said.
“The third horse (Talisker) was probably a little bit unlucky and got shut out over the final stages, and the filly that ran second (She Turns Heads) might be better going right-handed.
She trialled really well at Waipa, on a tight right-handed track, so might be a touch better that way around.
“Tokyo Tycoon is quite a light-framed horse, so he’ll probably only have one more run ahead of the Karaka Million.”
Tokyo Tycoon was purchased as a yearling by Te Akau principal David Ellis in March at the Karaka Book 1 Sale, paying $125,000 for the now gelding from the draft of Rich Hill Stud.
By Satono Aladdin, who won the highest rated mile in Japan, the Gr.1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) running an incredible 1:31.5, Tokyo Tycoon is out of All About The Coin, a three-time winning daughter of Starcraft.
Rich Hill Stud will present a half-sister to Tokyo Tycoon by Vadamos at next year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka, catalogued as Lot 24 of the Book 1 Sale. – NZ Racing Desk
