NZB Filly of the Year a Key Feature of Ellerslie’s Big Comeback

Media Release - Thursday December 23

New Zealand’s flagship racecourse is about to roar back to life after a six-month hiatus, and two stellar days of Christmas Carnival racing at Ellerslie will feature two legs of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series – starting on Boxing Day with the $120,000 Group Two Jamieson Park Eight Carat Classic (1600m). 

Ellerslie’s last race meeting was in early June, and all of its scheduled fixtures through the early part of the season were relocated to other tracks due to the COVID-19 Delta outbreak. There could be no better way to celebrate racing’s return to Auckland than the traditional Boxing Day meeting, of which the Eight Carat has become a pivotal part.

Run as the fifth leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, the Eight Carat Classic has delivered decades of high-quality contests, with its roll of honour from the last 25 years including the Group One winners Champagne (NZ) (Zabeel), La Bella Dama (NZ) (Desert Sun), Vapour Trail (NZ) (Jetball), Veloce Bella (NZ) (Volksraad), Katie Lee (Pins), Planet Rock (Fastnet Rock), Volpe Veloce (Foxwedge), and the two most recent winners, Jennifer Eccles (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) and Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel).

Advertisement

Belle En Rouge runs on Boxing Day.

This year’s field is headed by Belle En Rouge (NZ) (Burgundy), who has already earned 11 points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series so far, having won this month’s Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m) after placing in the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) and Group Three Soliloquy Stakes (1400m).

Belle En Rouge currently sits in second place on the points table, just 1 point behind stablemate The Perfect Pink (NZ) (Savabeel), who won the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton last month.

Mustang Valley (NZ) (Vanbrugh) heads into Sunday’s Eight Carat Classic with 3 points to her name, having finished second in the Group Three Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) in September. She ran fifth in both the Soliloquy Stakes and the 1000 Guineas.

Flash Mary (NZ) (El Roca) has been Listed-placed twice in her seven-start career, while the likes of Karman Line (NZ) (Myboycharlie), Lady Koval (American Pharoah), Verona (NZ) (Belardo) and Social Distance (NZ) (Savabeel) have scored impressive victories in lower grades.

The Jamieson Park Eight Carat Classic is worth 8 points to the winner, with 4 points for second and 2 for third.

It will be run as Race 5 on Ellerslie’s star-studded Boxing Day card, with a start time of 2.44pm.

Advertisment
More Reading...
$6million Frankel Mare Tops Fasig -Tipton November Sale
The Fasig-Tipton November Sale, billed as the World’s Premier Breeding Stock Event, was held Monday at the company’s Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Kentucky. Twenty-five offerings sold for $1,000,000 or more, led by a trio of Grade/Group 1 winners with international appeal.
Love Poem Looking to Continue Snitzel Winning Run
Love Poem’s progress this preparation earned the gifted filly an earlier than anticipated flight to Christchurch to bolster Stephen Marsh’s hand in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton.
Magic Nick Strikes Again – Fastnet Rock x Galileo
The Fastnet Rock x Galileo nick has been on fire in Melbourne this spring producing Cox Plate winner Via Sistina (IRE) and leading Melbourne Cup contender Buckaroo (GB) and it struck again overnight in the UK with a brand new stakes-winner in Military Academy, who captured the Listed Floodlit Stakes (1m4f) at Kempton.
Coolmore Announce Euro 2025 Fees
Coolmore have announced fees for their 20 strong European sire roster with three new additions City of Troy (Justify), Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact)and Henry Longfellow (Dubawi) and a significant increase for Wootton Bassett, who is currently in Australia.
2024 Melbourne Cup Result - It's Knights Choice
The 2024 Melbourne Cup has been run and won with Knight’s Choice, a five-year-old gelding by Extreme Choice victorious.
Melbourne Cup Winner for Extreme Choice – Rare Slice of History
This year’s $8.5million Group I VRC Melbourne Cup (3200m) produced a genuinely amazing fairytale result for the connections of five year-old Extreme Choice gelding Knight’s Choice, but part of that fairytale is his sire Extreme Choice, who has carved out something seriously special as being only the second sire in history to produce the winner of a Golden Slipper and a Melbourne Cup.
Coolmore Set Justify Fee for 2025
Coolmore have announced the US fee for Justify in 2025 with the undefeated Triple Crown winner priced at $US250,000 to head  their roster of 16 stallions at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday November 5
Here is the full list of 145 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
$2.4million Roses for Debra Tops Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale Day 1
Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm paid $2.4 million for Grade 2 winner Roses for Debra, a 5-year-old daughter of Liam’s Map, to top a strong day of trade during the Book 1 opener of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Roses for Debra was one of nine seven-figure horses sold on Tuesday, contributing to a nearly 15% increase in gross sales over last year.
Oaks Path Possible for Derryn Filly
An Oaks path is being tipped for three-year-old filly Leica Lucy following her debut win in the Christmas At The Races Friday 5th December (1400m) at New Plymouth on Wednesday.