Ellerslie Treble - Win No.3 You're Welcome

Given a humdinger of a ride by Troy Harris, You're Welcome  (5 g Camelot - Chorus of Angels, Rock of Gibraltar) recorded a timely victory in the $27,500 Dunstan Feeds Stayers Championship Qualifier (Rating 65, 2100m) on Saturday at Ellerslie.

A gritty staying horse that trainer Jamie Richards had touted as an improved sort for this current campaign, he will now prepare for the $100,000 Dunstan Feeds Stayers Championship Final (Special Conditions, 2400m) on the same course (1 Jan.).

After pressing forward from a wide gate (12), things looked like they could get messy when caught wide at the post with a lap to run, but Harris had the skills to slot in sixth with cover. Chasing a hot tempo, which suited the horse, he remained calm when still eight lengths astern at the 600m and gradually wore down the leader in a relentless manner.

Racing in good fettle, having fought hard off a tough trip for fourth in the Rating 65 2100 metres on 14 November at Tauranga, You're Welcome ran the 2100 metres in 2:17.6, last 600m in 35.0, and paid $4.60 & $2.10 on the NZ TAB tote.

“He was given a lovely ride by Troy (Harris) and a good tough win,” said Richards, having saddled a hat-trick of victories in the first three races on the programme.

“He didn't have a lot of luck a fortnight ago at Tauranga, and it looked ominous again being stuck wide, but he's a genuine stayer and we'll give him a bit of time now, which he enjoys, before the Dunstan Final.”

From the first Australian bred crop of a Champion Three-Year-Old Colt in Europe and Great Britain, Camelot (Montjeu), You're Welcome is owned by Steve Mace, Paul Gallen, Wayne Knight, Jim & Pauline Hepburn, Wade Graham, Matthew Fitzgerald, Damian Nash, Brett Lambert, Josh Dugan, and Chris Russell.

Boasting rich international pedigree, You're Welcome was purchased by David Ellis CNZM for $200,000 at the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, from the Curraghmore draft. 

He has a lovely Danehill influence in his pedigree: on the dam side of his sire Camelot and through Rock of Gibraltar on his female side. 

“It was a massive thrill to win with You're Welcome because a lot of his owners are also in Sneaky Shark, who quinelled the two-year-old race with our filly Millefiori,” Ellis said. “And, some of the boys that own Te Akau Shark are also in the horse. 

“Paul Gallen and Steve Mace, from the Cronulla Sharks, and one of our best clients, Jim & Pauline Hepburn, are also in the horse so it's a real thrill.

“Jamie has set him for the Dunstan Final, sponsored by our good friend Dave Smith, at Dunstan, and he's going to love stepping up to 2400 metres.

“What a beautiful ride by Troy Harris, one of the best jockeys in New Zealand. He's an absolutely sensational horseman, like his father Noel (Harris), beautiful balance, never panics. He put the horse in the race, timed his run to perfection, and he's an absolute class act. 

“62 wins, what an incredible effort by Jamie and his team to have saddled that many winners in the first four months of the season, and to win the first three races on a Saturday at Ellerslie, and quinella one, is no mean feat.

“You're Welcome is another good horse I've bought from Curraghmore Stud, a farm that produces some terrific horses and I've really liked the progeny of Camelot. I saw him in Europe. He was a fantastic racehorse that won two Derbies and already sired over 50 stakes winners.”

You're Welcome was strapped by Mette Mosebo. “It's been a good day for the Main Stable, although I work at the Colt Barn,” she said. “They've won with Millefiori, You're Welcome, and Star of Bombay was there before shifting to the Middle Barn.”

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz

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