Lucky Shark - 2nd Taupo Winner

Another good ride saw Lucky Shark (3 g Darci Brahma - Shamardal Luck, by Shamardal) break through at his third start on 30 December at Taupo, winning the Starlight Cinema Centre $10,000 Maiden 1300 metres.

After Opie Bosson had produced a beauty aboard stable-mate Willpower (Power) in the previous race, it was the turn of Japanese jockey Ryoya Kozaki to record his first victory in New Zealand.

“I've been given a great opportunity with Te Akau and very happy,” Kozaki said. “I would like to ride a lot more winners. He jumped well from the draw (4) and found a good position. He was comfortable.”

Desperately unlucky to not have already bagged a win, Kozaki secured a dream passage in fourth before ranging around the home turn and getting the measure of Let Me Tell Ya (The Factor) on the line. 

Strongly favoured, he paid $3.20 & $1.40 on the NZ TAB tote, after running the 1300 metres in 1:20.2 on Good3 footing. 

“He's always shown ability and I thought it was a good win,” said trainer Jamie Richards. “He's been a bit of a handful at times with his attitude, but the track work riders and staff in the colt barn have turned him around and got him going well.

“He's starting to get there now and should only continue to improve. He's a tall, rangy, sort of horse that still lacks physical maturity but is certainly going the right way. We expect he can get up in distance, once ready, and he's a half-brother to Brisbane Group 3 Rough Habit Plate winner Shocking Luck.

“I thought Roy (Kozaki), the young fella, gave him a lovely ride and he had every possible chance. He rode him exactly to instructions, one out and one back. And, it's great to have another nice horse in the stable for some of the owners in Sydney who also are involved with Te Akau Shark.” 

An athletic type, Lucky Shark had won emphatically when trialling on 26 November at Cambridge, before resuming with a fourth after racing outside the leader in the Maiden 3YO 1400 metres on 11 December at Hastings, and aided by the addition of visor blinkers and a tongue tie. 

Purchased by David Ellis for $200,000 at the 2018 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, from the draft of Phoenix Park, Lucky Shark is owned by Matt Allenby, Deborah Charlton, Michael Clemenger, Matt Fitzgerald, Steve & Kristy Mace, Chris Russell, Jason Simcocks, and Dave Taylor.

Te Akau also trained his half-brother Shocking Luck (Shocking) to finish second in the Waikato Guineas (Gr. 2, 2000m) before winning the Rough Habit Plate (Gr. 3, 2000m) at Doomben racecourse in Brisbane, and subsequently being sold to Hong Kong.

“I'm thrilled for the owners, they're a great team,” Ellis said. “They've experienced the highs with Te Akau Shark, one of the best horses we've got in New Zealand, winning here really impressively before taking on the best in Australia, and we were all enormously proud of his second in the Epsom Handicap (Gr. 1, 1600m) and third in the Cox Plate (Gr. 1, 2040m).

“This horse had breezed up effortlessly in a very respectable time (10.70) before we bought him at the Ready to Run Sale and he showed a nice bit of stretch. Obviously, we knew a bit about the family having trained Shocking Luck and both horses were bred by Terry Archer and Grant Currie, long time breeders and racing enthusiasts. 

“There were quite a few people that wanted to buy him and I think that given time and over more distance he can win a few more races.”

Lucky Shark was strapped by Sarah West. 

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz

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