Eight weeks after celebrating what they thought was a career pinnacle in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) at Trentham, the connections of blue-blooded mare Provence were treated to something even more special in Saturday’s Gr.1 HKJC World Pool New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie.

Te Akau Racing, Blake Shinn and fantastic filly Damask Rose created a piece of New Zealand racing history when they took out the inaugural running of the richest race in the land, the newly minted $3.5 million Listed The NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie.