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...
City of Troy Crowned 2024 Cartier European Horse of the Year
Outstanding Justify colt City of Troy was crowned Horse of the Year at the 2024 Cartier awards on Wednesday night in London at a star studded ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel.
Ka Ying Rising connection draws Hayes team to Shamexpress at Karaka
With one of the world’s most exciting sprinters flying the flag for David Hayes in Hong Kong, it has been no surprise to see the trainer’s sons zeroing in on progeny of Windsor Park Stud stallion Shamexpress during the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka this week.
Sires With Winners - Thursday November 21
Here is the full list of 32 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
$1.3million Snitzel Colt Ready to Fire on Debut for Te Akau
Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson are confident they have the young firepower to make an early impression in the first of the black type features at Pukekohe Park on Saturday.
Castelvecchio Out for Remainder of Season
Aeliana’s late charge into second place in the $1.5million Group I MRC Thousand Guineas last Saturday stamped her as the filly to follow out of the race, but it wasn’t quite enough to put her sire Castelvecchio to the top of the second season sires list and he is now out of service at Arrowfield following surgery last week.
Magic Millions 2025 Magazine Online
The 2025 Magic Millions magazine is now online with a great mix of gallery images, editorial and vendor profilies.
Cambridge Stud News
It’s been the spring that keeps giving for Cambridge Stud and it’s not over yet.
One to Watch – Moonee Valley
This promising three year-old Cosmic Force filly made it wo wins in as many starts at Moonee Valley on Friday night with a tenacious display.
Sires With Winners - Friday November 22
Here is the full list of 46 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Halo Racing Reduction features in November (Late) catalogue
Shares in reigning G1 Caulfield Cup champion Duke de Sessa, G1 Toorak Hcp winner Attrition and tomorrow’s G1 Railway Stakes favourite Light Infantry Man headline an exciting Inglis Digital November (Late) Online Sale.