A Group One target is in the offing for exciting three-year-old Poetic Champion following his victory in the TAB 1200 at Ellerslie on New Year's Day.
After enjoying the trail behind Shoes, the son of Super Seth improved to be outside the pacemaker when turning for home and captured the lead with 300m to go and was able to hold out the late challenge of race favourite Sweynesday to win by a head.
Poetic Champion was first-up after a soft spring, where he won the Listed El Roca – Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m) and ran fourth in the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m).
He returned with an 800m trial victory at Pukekohe last month and trainer Tony Pike was keen to give him a look around Ellerslie prior to the Karaka Millions meeting on January 25.
“He is a really electric horse fresh, he is unbeaten now fresh-up,” Pike said. “We really wanted to keep his races spaced towards Karaka Millions night, hence we took on the older horses. It was a good effort from a three-year-old against the older horses at this time of year especially.
“It was a good win, and he got chased down by a pretty good horse in second as well.”
Jockey Matt Cartwright has a soft spot for Poetic Champion and was pleased with his performance in open grade on Wednesday.
“I love this horse, he has been going so well this prep,” Cartwright said. “He had to step up against the older horses, but he did so and he acquitted himself well.
“He will take confidence out of it and he is going well.”
Bred by Australian Jonathan Munz under his GSA Bloodstock banner, Poetic Champion was initially offered as a yearling at Karaka but failed to meet his $80,000 reserve and was subsequently entrusted to the care of Pike.
He has now won three of his nine starts for the Cambridge horseman, including the Sir Colin Meads Trophy, and he has also placed in the Gr.3 Matamata Slipper (1200m), Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m), and Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m).
Group targets now await Poetic Champion on Karaka Millions night, with his connections now weighing up between the Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) and Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Almanzor Trophy (1200m).
“There are two nice options available to us,” Pike said. “The Railway looks like it is going to come up a pretty strong field. I will have a talk with Jonathan and the team at GSA and we will decide what we want to do in the next week or so.
“He (Munz) hasn’t raced a horse in New Zealand for a fair while. This bloke couldn’t be sold at the sales, he got passed in, so lucky he left him here and he has done Super Seth proud.
“It is really good that Jonathan has supported the New Zealand industry and hopefully he keeps a few more here.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
