2 Win Tuesday - Ocean Miss - Lovely Ladies

From the family of Te Akau cult hero and triple Group One winner Gingernuts (Iffraaj), Ocean Miss (3 f Ocean Park – Runway, by Pins) won the $18,500 Riversley Park Maiden 1400 metres on 12 November at Te Aroha for her Ladies' Syndicate of owners.

Ocean Miss provided the second win on the programme for trainers Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson, from three runners, after Celestial Wonder (Xtravagant) raced clear by nearly five lengths in the Maiden 3YO 1150 metres.

Finding the line for fourth after a track downgrade to Heavy8 when debuting in the Maiden 3YO 1200 metres at the same venue on 30 October, Ocean Miss appeared suited stepping up in distance, had the addition of blinkers, and was ideally drawn (2) to rate a top four chance.

With champion jockey Michael McNab aboard, who also obliged on Celestial Wonder, Ocean Miss pounced away well to lead, travelled within herself without undue pressure, was going better than most when slipping clear around the home and never looked in any danger.

Winning comfortably by one and a half lengths, Ocean Miss ran 1400 metres in slick time (1:22.7) on Good4 footing and shortened from an earlier $6.00 fixed odds quote to pay $4.70 & $1.70 on the NZ TAB tote.

“It was a really good win today, another positive ride of Michael’s and she went to the line really well,” Walker said.

“She’d had a few aches and pains as a younger horse, just growing pains, but now she’s away and it was good to see her win on top of the ground.

“Black type is the aim for these three-year-old fillies and if she pulled up really well we could look to The O’Learys Fillies Stakes over 1340 metres on 30 November at Wanganui.

“It was really good to get a win at just her second start and great for Karyn (Fenton-Ellis) and her group of ladies in the ownership. They’ve been nice and patient, allowed us time to get her into racing trim and you’d have to think that the way she won today it certainly won’t be her last.”

Owned by the Te Akau Racing Girls’ Day Out 2023 Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), Ocean Miss was purchased by David Ellis CNZM for $60,000 at the Karaka 2023 Book 1 Sale, from the draft of Carlaw Park.

Her sire, Ocean Park (Thorn Park), was also trained at Matamata. He won five Group One races, including the Group 1 Cox Plate, and proved himself as a stallion at Waikato Stud with his progeny winning nearly 850 races.

Among the best, his highly acclaimed daughter Tofane won four Group One races over 1400 metres in Australia, and Kolding won the Group 2 Queensland Guineas and included the A$7.5 million Golden Eagle among three Group 1 victories.

Ocean Miss is out of a half-sister to triple Group One winner Gingernuts (Iffraaj), who developed a cult following when trained by Te Akau, and recorded victories in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby 2400m, Group 1 Randwick Guineas 2000m, and Group 1 Windsor Park Plate 1600m.

Her dam Runway was a versatile and hardy race mare that won three times up to 1600 metres, by Champion Sire and Broodmare Sire Pins (Snippets).

The dam sire line is one to behold, with the grand-dam being by Group 1 English Derby 2400m winner Generous, third dam sire Oregon is the dam-sire of dual Hong Kong Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon (Pins), and the fourth dam is by the godfather of New Zealand sires Sir Tristram (Sir Ivor).

At the time of purchase, Ellis said: “Gingernuts was a very special horse to Te Akau and proved that the family can leave a horse of the highest calibre.

“She is a strong bodied filly with plenty of purpose and interestingly is very similar in colouring and in her make up to Gingernuts.”

Ocean Miss carries crosses through her dam lines of legendary stallion Sir Tristram (Sir Ivor) and also has the duplicated influence of high quality sire Nureyev (Northern Dancer).

Ocean Miss was strapped by Mahesh Kamble.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz