Dane Julia lands
New Zealand Group 1
Report: New Zealand, Saturday
Te Aroha: New Zealand Bloodstock Breeders Stakes (Group1) 1600m 3yo+ fillies and mares.
THE 39th running of the Group 1 New Zealand Breeders' Bloodstock Stakes became a truly international affair, with the Group 1 contest falling to the South African-bred Dane Julia, trained in Australia by Lee Freedman.
The five-year-old daughter of Caesour, a South African-based son of Nureyev, gave the leaders a good head start but stormed up the centre of the track with 300m to run under a fine ride from Michael Walker. The win was Walker's first Group 1 success since his return to race riding in December after the life-threatening fall he sustained last year while out pig hunting.
Shanzero, sent off favourite and aiming to provide a rare victory for three-year-olds in this race, was beaten a long neck into second, with Veloce Bella finishing best of all to claim third place from a long way back.
A Group 1 winner in her native South Africa, Dane Julia, who paid $5.60-1, was recording her first win in 12 starts since joining the Freedman string.
With Freedman and the mare's owners in Sydney for the Autumn Carnival and Easter yearling sales, Dane Julia was saddled by Freedman's travelling foreman Scott Magee. New Zealand-born Magee has worked for Freedman for 21 years, accompanying such top performers as Miss Andretti and Mummify around the world.
"I'm thrilled to win the race, being a Kiwi myself," Magee commented after the race. "You can see why Michael is one of the best over here; he had her settled in the perfect place. She got back but as soon as Michael asked her to go she responded. It's nice to get a Group 1 for her on this side of the world."
Walker added: "She gave me an amazing ride. When I asked her for an effort it was there. Lee Freedman and his team have done an amazing job with her and she was spot-on the mark today."
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