Rubick Filly Romps Home - Te Rapa Double

Beautifully bred filly Puzzle Solved (3 f Rubick - Sandownboulevard, by Spinning World) stepped up with a dominant victory in the $14,000 Dunstan Horsefeeds Maiden 3YO 1200 metres on 3 February at Te Rapa.

Having finished second to stable-mate Freeze Frame (Vadamos) on Heavy10 in the Maiden 3YO 1200 metres on 11 January at Matamata, Puzzle Solved quickened well on slow ground to score at her third attempt and in the process displayed promising attributes for the future.

Ideally situated behind the leaders by Te Akau apprentice Hakim Kamaruddin, Puzzle Solved had reeled them in at the 200m and raced away by four and a half lengths. 

On Soft7 footing, Puzzle Solved ran 1:11.3, last 600m in 38.5, and paid $6.40 & $2.00.

“She's made good progress to win like that today and I think she'll keep improving with age,” said trainer Mark Walker. 

“We've had a great relationship with Geoff (Taylor). We leased Belmont Lodge off him when we had the South Island stable at Rangiora, and I always stayed with Geoff and Janetta. They're great hosts, fantastic.”

Bred by Geoff Taylor (Octagon Bloodstock) and owned by him in conjunction with G Bunting, L Bunting, D & B Martin, K Misonou, P W O'Donnell, S Williams and P Rae, Puzzle Solved was purchased as a yearling by David Ellis CNZM for $50,000 at the 2021 Karaka Book 1 Sale, from the draft of Curraghmore Stud.

Dam Sandownboulevard is a three-quarter sister to Arlingtonboulevard, owned by Taylor and Gordon Calder, and trained at Te Akau by Mark Walker to win six races including the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes (Gr. 1, 1600m).

Her sire Rubick, by Champion sire Encosta de Lago (Fairy King), is the sire of $13m Everest (1200m) winner Yes Yes Yes. A fast horse that won twice as a two-year-old, Rubick is ranked among the top 10 3YO Sires in Australia. 

“I race her with some friends from Christchurch, all involved with ANZCO meats,” Taylor said. “We raced a horse together called Dejayal with Mark (Walker) in Singapore. 

“She's got a nice enough pedigree if she can get some black type, and it was a good win today.

“We've got a few mares and we bred the mare (Sandownboulevard) to Rubick in Australia, after breeding Arlingtonboulevard in Australia too, so we're trying the same again, and Mark did a great job training Arlingtonboulevard for us.

“The family have been good milers and we chose Rubick to help inject a bit more speed, and at the time he was a lower priced stallion at Coolmore.”

At the time of purchase, Ellis said: “She's from a smart filly family and one that we know very well.

“Star Way, which appears as a cross in her bloodlines, was a really good stallion and of course Northern Dancer is also there and he's an influence that is hard to go past.

“She has a lot of quality about her, great walk, correct, and being from this family we expect her to possess similar traits to other good racehorses it has produced.”

Puzzle Solved was strapped by Murala Mallesh. 

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz