breednet.com.au

Ellerslie Carnival Brings Major Moves in NZB Filly of the Year

Media Release - Monday December 23

The festive season marks a pivotal point in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, with two of the 10 legs taking place at Ellerslie within the space of a week – each one worth 8 points to the winner.

Jennifer Eccles is looking to cast off maiden status in style!First up is Thursday’s $100,000 Group Two SkyCity Eight Carat Classic (1600m), which in recent years has been won by eventual Filly of the Year winners Katie Lee (Pins), Planet Rock (Fastnet Rock), Fix (NZ) (Iffraaj) and Queen of Diamonds (NZ) (Savabeel).

This year’s field is headed by Jennifer Eccles (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle), who sits in second place on the leaderboard with 7 points.

Although she is still a maiden, Jennifer Eccles has placed in three stakes races, starting with a third in last season’s Listed Auckland Futurity Stakes (1400m).

She began her Filly of the Year Series campaign with a fourth in the first leg, the Group Three Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings, behind Aretha (NZ) (Charm Spirit), Bavella (Snitzel) and the current table-topper Loire (NZ) (Redoute’s Choice).

After a third in the Group Three Soliloquy Stakes (1400m), Jennifer Eccles stepped up to Group One level and charged home for a close second in the gavelhouse.com New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), just a long neck behind Loire.

Jennifer Eccles trails Loire by 6.5 points in the Filly of the Year Series race, and she will move to the top of the table if she can win the Eight Carat Classic. Champion Sydney-based Kiwi jockey James McDonald takes the ride.

The field also features last-start Listed winner Two Illicit (NZ) (Jimmy Choux), plus stakes placegetters Showoroses (NZ) (Showcasing), Manchu (Redoute’s Choice), Familia (NZ) (Makfi), Showbeel (NZ) (Savabeel), Aalaalune (NZ) (Reliable Man) and Tears of Jupiter (Zoustar).

Manchu features on the Filly of the Year table with 3 points, while Showbeel has 1.5.

Along with the 8 points available to the winner, the runner-up in the Eight Carat Classic will earn 4 points and the third placegetter will collect 2 points.

The SkyCity Eight Carat Classic will be run as Race 7 on Thursday with a start time of 4:05pm.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Promising New Winner for Black Caviar
The racing and bloodstock world were saddened earlier this year following  the passing of undefeated world champion sprinter Black Caviar and her memory was recalled at Wangaratta on Monday when her three year-old filly Persian Caviar made a winning debut.
Sires With Winners - Sunday December 22
Here is the full list of 54 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Rosehill
A busy set of trials at Rosehill on Monday morning featured four heats for juveniles and the winners were all unraced youngsters by Tassort, Too Darn Hot (GB), Super Seth and Golden Slipper winner Farnan, while a Wootton Bassett (GB) colt showed he could possibly still get to the Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
The Yearlings You Know You Want to See!
A flood of yearling images uploaded to the Magic Millions website ahead of the Christmas break have brought the first major Australian sale of 2025 to life in an online sense and for those who have not been visiting the farms in the lead up to the sale it’s a great chance to get a look at some of the superstar yearlings.
Four MM Lead Ups for Icarian Dream - what are the stats?
Two-year-old filly Icarian Dream’s win in the B.J. McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday will see her head into the Magic Millions 2YO Classic having had four starts before year’s end, which might seem a lot in this day and age – but is it? We’ve had a look.
Stakes Racing Catalogue Updates Last Week
A dozen stakes updates in the past week into catalogues for yearlings coming up.
Sires With Winners - Friday December 20
Here is the full list of 71 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Brave Smash Winning Double Hong Kong
The Sha Tin meeting on Sunday produced some great  results for the Yarraman sires with Brave Smash (Jpn) posting a winning double and Hellbent siring a promising new three year-old winner.
Little Brose to Stand at Little Avondale
Arguably there is no better stallion making race in Australasia than Victoria's only Gr.1 event for two-year-olds, the Blue Diamond Stakes, and when you add the hottest bloodline in the Southern Hemisphere to the mix, you have an exciting stallion prospect. 
2024 Favourite Foal Winner
Firstly we’d like to thank everyone for taking an interest in our foal gallery and supporting their favourites, but there was always a sentimental top pick for many and the most famous foal in the country has now won his first race!