3 Win Saturday - Hooray For Harry Indeed

Denied room when resuming, Hooray For Harry (4 g Harry Angel – Here We Come, by Exceed And Excel) made amends with a second-up win in the $40,000 Rating 65 1200 metres on Saturday at Riccarton - delivering the Te Akau stable its second winner from two races on the programme.

A deserved course/distance Maiden winner in March, that continued good form with two seconds immediately following the win, Hooray For Harry sustained his effort to dead heat for first at the trials on 19 August at Ashburton, before being held up behind runners when resuming in the Rating 65 1000 metres on 30 August at Riccarton.

With Opie Bosson aboard, who also rode last time, and obliged in the first race on the programme aboard stable-mate War Of Silence (Snitzel), Hooray For Harry received an uninterrupted passage in sixth before angling clear at the top of the straight and he kept mounting a run to reel in the leader near home.

“He was dead-set unlucky last time and once the gap opened he wanted to lay back in behind the horse in front of him,” Bosson said.

“But I made sure I got him into the clear, today, and tried to hold him up for one last run at them. It’s not easy carrying 60kg, down a long home straight, so it was a good effort.”

Scoring by a half-head in the race sponsored by NZB Ready To Run Trainers Series, Hooray For Harry ran 1200 metres in 1:10.2 of Soft5 footing and paid $3.90 & $1.60 on the NZ TAB tote. 

A genuine performer, Hooray For Harry has now won twice and finished second four times from 12 starts. 

“It was a terrific win, today, and good ride of Opie’s to get his timing so exact and he really punched him out to the line,” said Mark Walker, training partner with Sam Bergerson.

“It makes up for him being desperately unlucky last start, and great for the owners who have been very patient with him. And Hunter (Durrant) and the team of staff we’ve got at our stables on the course there (Riccarton) have done an outstanding job with him.”

From the course, Bergerson said: “Obviously he was pretty stiff first-up, but we were happy with the run and he trained on really well.

“Opie gave him a lovely ride and it was a good effort to pick the horse up on the inside. It was good to see him win like that and hopefully he’ll get confidence from it to progress through the grades.

“I can’t thank the team down here enough. They’ve done a fantastic job with him because he hasn’t been the easiest and has been a bit frustrating at times.”

Owned by the Te Akau Here Comes Harry Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), Hooray For Harry was purchased for $125,000 by David Ellis CNZM, from the draft of Carlaw Park, at the 2023 Karaka Book 1 Sale. 

Crowned World Champion Sprinter, sire Harry Angel (Dark Angel) had a Timeform rating higher than four Everest (1200m) winners and at the time of buying Hooray For Harry, he already had two stakes' winners with his oldest crop two-year-olds in Australia, a figure that has now increased to 34 stakes' winners. 

Dam Here We Come, the winner of three races to 1200 metres in Australia, is by Australian Champion Sire and leading broodmare sire Exceed and Excel (Danehill), and has now left four individual winners of 10 races. 

Grand-dam Heptonstall is by the mighty champion racehorse Octagonal (Zabeel), winner of 10 Group One races, who in turn sired the equally impressive 11-time Group One winning sire Lonhro, while as a broodmare sire Octagonal has produced 20 stakes' winners including 12 Group winners. 

At the time of purchase, Ellis said: “He’s by the exciting young Darley stallion Harry Angel, who is leaving forward types that are proving very competitive in Australia. 

“He’s out of a mare by Exceed and Excel and you just can’t get better than him as a broodmare sire.

“He’s a really well put together colt and the mare has already left a good horse in Another Rally (subsequently named Beato, a winner in Hong Kong), who won both his starts in Australia.”

Hooray For Harry was strapped by Ruby Rae-Wood.  

Photo credit - Ajay Berry - www.raceimages.co.nz