Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images)
A sparkling performance by La Dorada (Super Seth) in Saturday’s Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) completed another Te Akau clean sweep of New Zealand’s biggest two-year-old prizes.
La Dorada had previously won the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m), while her unbeaten stablemate Return To Conquer strung together four black-type successes including the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m).
Since the inception of the Karaka Millions in 2008, Te Akau Racing is the only stable to win the Karaka Millions, Sistema and Sires’ Produce Stakes in the same season. They have now achieved this remarkable feat four times – in 2018 (Avantage in the Karaka Millions and Sires’ Produce Stakes, Sword Of Osman in the Sistema), 2019 (Probabeel in the Karaka Millions, Yourdeel in the Sistema and Sires’ Produce Stakes), 2021 (On The Bubbles in the Karaka Millions and Sires’ Produce Stakes, Sword Of State in the Sistema) and 2025.
La Dorada’s chance of winning all three races by herself was extinguished by a temperature spike that forced her to be scratched on the morning of the Sistema Stakes. But she secured Group One redemption in Saturday’s $550,000 feature at Trentham.
She was given a perfect ride by Michael McNab, who slotted her into fourth spot and one off the rail as War Princess and Too Sweet set a breakneck speed out in front.
La Dorada cruised up behind the leaders coming up to the home turn, then pounced at the 300m mark. A brilliant burst of speed carried her well clear, racing away to win by three and a half lengths.
Adding to the Te Akau dominance, the winner’s lightly raced stablemate Hostility produced a strong finish to fill the runner-up spot. Landlock was third, but was subsequently relegated after a successful protest by the connections of the fourth-placed Tajana.
La Dorada became Te Akau’s ninth winner of the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes, joining Maroofity (2003), Kindacross (2005), Melody Belle (2017), Avantage (2018), Yourdeel (2019), On The Bubbles (2021), Maven Belle (2022) and Move To Strike (2024).
Almost all of those previous winners were purchased by David Ellis, who paid $190,000 to secure La Dorada from the Book 1 draft of her breeders Waikato Stud at Karaka 2024. La Dorada has now had five starts for four wins and a second, earning $1.06 million in stakes for the Te Akau Solid Gold Racing Partnership.
“She showed her class today and she’s just so tough,” said Mark Walker, who trains in partnership with Sam Bergerson.
“She’s been up for a while. She’s had quite a long season. But Sam and the team have done a great job keeping her going so well for that long.
“She had that setback with the Sistema, but we didn’t panic. It’s great to see her get a Group One win. She’s a very tough filly and is going to make a lovely three-year-old as well. She’s not very big, but she’s all heart.
“She wasn’t expensive, costing less than $200,000, and you can’t go wrong buying the Waikato Stud product. I think Super Seth is the next big thing in New Zealand.”
La Dorada became second-season sire Super Seth’s third Group One winner in the month of March, following on from Feroce in the Australian Guineas (1600m) and Linebacker in the Randwick Guineas (1600m).
Walker was also delighted with Hostility. The blue-blooded colt by I Am Invincible out of multiple Group One winner Shillelagh was a record-breaking $1.65 million purchase from the Ready to Run Sale in November. The Sires’ Produce Stakes was only his second start, having run second on debut earlier this month.
“His run was full of merit too,” Walker said. “To have your second run in a Group One race and put in a performance like that, he’s a special horse in the making.
“We’ll have some decisions to make around the three-year-old plans for La Dorada, Hostility and Return To Conquer, but we’ve got all winter to do that. It’s a big team effort with David, Karyn (Fenton-Ellis), Sam, Reece (Trumper) and Nicole (Shailer). We’ll sit down over the winter and work it all out. They’re beautiful horses.”
The Sires’ Produce Stakes brought Walker and Bergerson back level with Stephen Marsh in terms of Group and Listed winners this season. The rivals went into Saturday’s meeting tied on 13 stakes wins each, and Marsh briefly moved ahead with Kiwi Skyhawk’s victory in the Gr.3 Higgins Concrete Manawatu Classic (2100m).
Meanwhile, Saturday’s Group One triumph was a welcome breakthrough for McNab, who has endured a run of second placings at the elite level with La Crique in the Zabeel Classic (2000m), Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m), plus Dubai Gold in last week’s New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
“It’s a good feeling,” McNab said. “It’s been a bit of a frustrating, heartbreaking run. The season’s been going really well, but those Group One races and million-dollar races are the ones you really want to win. It’s nice to do that today.
“This filly is an absolute star. There’s not much of her, but she has great ability, great heart and just a great will to win.
“She’s not the best at cornering. She sort of pops herself out. She did that at Matamata and again today. She got lost for a little bit, but then she was brilliant down the straight. To get across the line for David and Te Akau today is very special.”
