Kiwi Raider, By Name, By Nature

Displaying ability from the outset, Kiwi Raider (3 f Per Incanto – Anaween, by More Than Ready) recorded a second start victory in the A$32,000 Solomons Flooring Maiden 1017 metres on 23 September at Moe (Victoria).

Winning a jump out on the bridle before fighting well for third when debuting in the Maiden 3YO 1000 metres on 5 September at Mornington, Kiwi Raider rewarded jockey Ethan Brown for his association along the way. 

Jumping away well to share a competitive pace over the sprint trip, Kiwi Raider settled nicely outside the leader, and kept producing in the straight to get her head in front near the line. 

On Soft7 footing, Kiwi Raider ran 1017 metres in 1:01.8 and as race favourite from the opening of betting she paid $2.30 & $1.10 on the NZ TAB tote.

“She will probably be suited on bigger tracks and the race today was only 1000 metres, but being a Ready To Run Sale horse we’ve been trying to get her to settle,” Brown said.

“I’ve done a bit of work with her and even today she did a bit wrong in that sense, got a bit racy and it took me awhile to settle her. But she dropped her head lovely, towed me into the race, wobbled around the corner, but the win probably felt better than it looked.

“What they (connections) do now, I’m not sure, but if they give her time, she can come back in the autumn and make a nice horse.

“I nearly took it up (lead) at one stage, but knowing the horse I didn’t want to fire her up and she would have learnt a lot out of today. It would have been very good for her confidence to get the win, and, as I said, I think next prep she’s going to really learn and furnish into a proper racehorse.

“The track (Soft7) had a fair bit of cushion and that suited her, too.”

Kiwi Raider was purchased by David Ellis CNZM/Ozzie Kheir/Group 1 Bloodstock/Bruce Perry Bloodstock, for $270,000 at the 2024 Karaka Ready To Run Sale, from the draft of Kilgravin Lodge, and is owned by Mr A Kheir, Mrs C R Williams, Mr A S Williams, Mr T R Maddern, Carty Racing, Merrick's Station, Mr M Hogg, A K Racing, Mr M Cassidy, Mr S A Lewin, Mr J Docherty, Mr A Turner, Mr D J Meredith.

Kiwi Raider carries the same Ozzie Kheir colours as stable-mate Exuberance (Savabeel), whom Te Akau trainer Mark Walker won with twice with in her first preparation.

“It was good to get another winner for Ozzie Kheir, and his partners, in those famous colours,” Walker said.

"It’s really great to have received their support. Initially, when we set up the Te Akau stable at Cranbourne (Victoria) there was a misconception that we only trained Te Akau bought and syndicated horses, but we’ve always been public trainers in New Zealand, as well as Australia and Singapore, and that’s continuing to filter out there.

“Ozzie, once he realised that, reached out and gave us a couple of horses to train, and now both Kiwi Raider and Exuberance have wins on the board.

“Kiwi Raider is going to have a break now. It was great to get a win out of the way at her second start and I think she’ll develop into a really nice filly for the autumn.

“Typical of a Ready To Run Sale graduate, she has often wanted to overdo things in the early part of her preparation, but the ownership group has been really patient and allowed to us to manage her nicely and take her along gradually.”

By top tier sire Per Incanto (Street Cry), Kiwi Raider became the fourth individual winner out of Anaween (More Than Ready), whose progeny have won 13 races from 1017m – 2400m.

Standing since 2017, the former Champion Three-Year-Old Sprinter in Italy, Per Incanto (Street Cry) has been a terrific stallion influence in New Zealand, and continues to leave rich-coloured and athletic thoroughbreds.

Incredibly, world renowned stallion and dam-sire More Than Ready (Southern Halo) produced 135 stakes' winners as a broodmare sire. 

Passing in 2022, aged 25, More Than Ready had been Champion Sire in both hemispheres, proven an outstanding sire of sires, and went from strength-to-strength as a broodmare sire.

Kiwi Raider is from the family of Amarelinha (Savabeel), who was purchased by Ellis as a yearling at Karaka, and the Group 1 NZ Oaks' (2400m) winner became the sixth of eight NZB Filly of the Year title winners for Te Akau. 

At the time of purchasing Kiwi Raider, Ellis said: “She’s a classy type of filly that showed a terrific length of stride in her breeze up, and from a family that we know very well at Te Akau.

“Being out of a mare by More Than Ready is always a massive plus. Her grand-dam is by the legendary sire Danehill, and further down the page in her pedigree is the former Cambridge Stud stallion Keeper (Danehill).

“We trained some really good horses by Keeper, none better than Insouciant that Mark Walker trained to win the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas and she also became New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year.

“It is also the family of another New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year, Amarelinha. We bought her at Karaka and trained to win the New Zealand Oaks (Gr. 1, 2400m).”

Kiwi Raider was strapped by Maddi Hofmann.