Not Straight Laced ~ Precocious Winner

Recording her second win this season, Not Straight Laced (4 m Turn Me Loose – Clos De Tart, by Darci Brahma) took out the $18,500 Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series Rating 65 Fillies & Mares 1200 metres - also earning her connections a $20,000 bonus - on 29 August at Riccarton.

A course/distance winner when powering up to score easily in the Maiden 1200 metres on 7 August, providing the first win this season for Champion trainers Mark Walker & Sam Bergeron, Not Straight Laced rated a top three chance.

Ridden by Wiremu Pinn, who included victory aboard stable-mate Malmaison among his three wins on the programme last Friday at Awapuni, Not Straight Laced was a touch keen in the early stages with no pace on, before getting into a nice position at the 600m. Once presented in the straight, she again displayed a winning turn of foot to score with authority. 

On course, Te Akau's South Island stable foreman Hunter Durrant said: “She is putting it together well, Not Straight Laced.

“The trip down here has made her grow up and we’re seeing in the way she’s racing, with back-to-back wins, that she is happy in the stable environment here at Riccarton.”

On the poly track, Not Straight Laced ran 1200 metres in 1:11.2 and drifted in betting to start second favourite and return $3.30 & $1.70 on the NZ TAB tote.

“It was another nice win today, well done to Wiremu (Pinn), and also really good for the owners because there was a Pearl Series Bonus attached to the race,” Walker said.

“Well done to Hunter (Durrant) and the team, as she certainly hasn’t been a kid’s pony and has required a fair bit of management the whole way through.

“She has been fragile mentally and hopefully she is continuing to mature in that department.

“Obviously she will now go up in grade to a Rating 75, but good to see her rewarding the owners’ patience as a four-year-old that had a pretty solid record and now a couple of wins.

“We hope that with these wins and more maturity that she can continue to settle down and become easier to manage in her track work.”

Bred and owned by Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM, Glenn & Catherine Holmes and Cheryl Renouf, Not Straight Laced is out of Clos De Tart, whom David Ellis CNZM purchased as a yearling at Karaka. The dual winner has now left three individual winners, including stakes' placed Shameless Tart (Shamexpress).

Owned and bred by the same connections, full sister Off To The Nunnery was also a tough winner early in her career. 

Clos De Tart was out of impressive winner Rapid Kay (Towkay), who recorded five victories from 1300m to 1600m and also placed third on two occasions at Group One level.

Trained by Mark Walker at Te Akau stables in Matamata, Rapid Kay remained etched in the mind of David Ellis after beating his future Champion Three-Year-Old and Horse of the Year King’s Chapel (King of Kings) in the Canterbury Stakes (Listed, 1600m) at Riccarton. 

Ellis subsequently secured Clos De Tart for $70,000 at the 2011 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale, from the draft of Little Avondale Stud. 

He was also the buyer of dam-sire Darci Brahma (Danehill), a five-time Group One winner and Champion Sire, which provided Clos De Tart with a cross of immortal sire Northern Dancer through her sire lines, and genetically a family that has produced some athletically talented racehorses and plenty of winners.

Grand-dam Rapid Kay (Towkay) left five winners of 18 races, including nine-time winner Ekklestone (Darci Brahma). While second dam, Racing Waters (Racing Is Fun), a stakes' placed winner of three races, left six winners of 18 races, including Rapid Kay and dual stakes winner Kekova (Elusive City). 

Not Straight Laced was strapped by Naomi Warrander.

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