Members of the NZTBA have the opportunity to win a nomination to the super stallion Pins at the upcoming Gr.1 Fiber Fresh NZ Thoroughbred Breeders's Stakes at Te Aroha on April 8.
Thanks to the generosity of Waikato Stud, the Waikato Branch of the NZTBA have been donated a service nomination for the 2017 to the versatile son of Snippets to offer as prize on race day.
"Anyone who is a financial member of the Association from any branch is eligible to enter in the draw on the day, and have the chance to win this super prize and other prizes," according to Lisa Dunbar, Secretary of the Waikato Branch who host the day.
Pins is the sire of the Champions Aerovelocity, Ambitious Dragon and Katie Lee, along with 70 Stakes winners. He is distinguished as New Zealand's fourth leading Stakes producer of all time, and consistently leaves an average of eight Stakes winners each season in a variety of racing jurisdictions. This season alone he has sired five new Stakes winners including Legless Veuve, Residential, Reilly Lincoln, Seize The Moment and Honey Rider.At Te Aroha there is a specially designated area complete with mini marquees in an area below the public stand, where a light lunch will be served for members. On entering the marquee area, members will be given a glass of champagne and their details will be put into the prize draw.
A Sweepstake whereby members' names will be drawn against a horse in the race will be held on the races throughout the day, with a variety of prizes on offer. The Pins nomination will be up for grabs on the feature race the Gr.1 Fiber Fresh NZ Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes.
Other prizes up for grabs from generous sponsors include vouchers for a lunch at Mills Reef Winery, Mills Reef Wines, Fibre Fresh products, and Gavelhouse goodies.
"It's always a fabulous day at Te Aroha it's such a lovely race course," said Dunbar, "as the date gets closer we are getting a good response from Association members who enjoy the camaraderie of the day and the marquee area."
Once again the 1600 metre race, the only Group One race in New Zealand exclusively for fillies and mares, is likely to attract a quality field. Last start Group race winners Miss Wilson and Thee Auld Floozie, her runner-up Mime, and up and coming mare Romantic Maid are amongst those heading to Te Aroha to add their names to the already impressive list of mares. These include last year's winner Perfect Fit, Diademe, Viadana and Xanadu.
Earlier this month at Te Aroha, an inconsistent track surface forced the abandonment of the last race meeting after two races, sparking some significant concern that the track may not but suitable for their feature race day, however a lot of remedial work has been done already.
Working with NZTR, the club are confident that the upcoming race day will go ahead as planned. On the Thursday morning before the race, there will be horses working at the track ridden by some senior jockeys. That will be the final confirmation, but at this stage the club feels there's no reason to believe that the meeting won't proceed as planned. Michelle Saba
