Total Excess Excellent

Having won his only start as a two-year-old, Total Excess (3 g Delago Deluxe - Avail, by Exceed and Excel) resumed his three-year-old season with a polished performance in $25,000 3YO 1300 metres on Saturday at Awapuni.

Total Excess became the 10^th of 12 individual two-year-old winners last season for Te Akau, with a terrific debut effort over 1200 metres in April at Hastings.

Fittingly, after Te Akau principal David Ellis was leading buyer through the week at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, he purchased Total Excess at the corresponding sale last year for $200,000, from the draft of Regal Farm, for owners in the Te Akau Total Excess Syndicate (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM).

“We've had quite unbelievable success at this (Ready to Run) sale and I don't know if people know just how hard it is to buy these good horses,” said Ellis, referring not only to Total Excess, but also triple Group One winner Gingernuts (Iffraaj), Group One winner Hall of Fame, and horse of the moment Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle).

“From the (RTR) sale last year, we've got some really nice horses still to race. Golden Age, a Savabeel, looks like he could be a Derby horse; a nice Camelot (You're Welcome) that we like; Luminous, the white filly, looks a promising staying filly after debuting so well yesterday, and that's just naming a few, as there's others with plenty of talent from the sale too.

“So for Total Excess to win the same week that we've been buying these two-year-old horses is fantastic news. Karyn and I have been working flat stick, night and day, selling these horses and just about all the shares are gone. And to sell the rest, it's a big help with Total Excess winning. We've never sold so many horses so quickly, it's just quite incredible.”

In the race sponsored by Higgins Concrete and BNZ Partners, Total Excess travelled outside the leader after being first to spring the gates, was second into the home straight and responded to the urging of Te Akau apprentice Nik Bakar over the final stage for a clear-cut victory.

Mid-straight and in summary, commentator Tony Lee said: “Still Maria Dior, Total Excess is very tough coming after her, gives it the go-by and look at him go now. Total Excess has been super in the finish, it has a ticker and put three (lengths) on them in a flash”.

On Dead4 going, Total Excess clocked a very respectable time (1:15.7) and paid $3.20 & $1.70 on the NZ TAB tote.

While two wins from two starts is a definitive record, it was rather delayed after being required to trial at the request of the Stipendiary Stewards. When looking to resume on 27 October at Trentham, he uncharacteristically became agitated in the gates and was scratched.

Since then, he was flawless at the barrier and never off the bridle when finishing second at the trials on 8 November at Cambridge.

The win continued a five win buffer atop the training premiership for Jamie Richards, with 38 victories, including eight stakes' races, and the sharpest strike rate (4.5) among the top 10.

“I thought he was a real sprinter, but the way he came off bridle he might need a bit more ground,” Richards said.

“We'll take him along quietly, sit down and have a talk with Dave (Ellis) and work it all out. He's another example of a horse you can buy from the Ready to Run Sale that we bought last year. He's two from two and the owners are going to have a lot of fun with him. He's a laidback customer and getting better all the time.”

Of the ride, Ellis said: “I think he's a pretty determined young man, Nik Bakar. He's got an unbelievable strike rate (3.1), getting more commonsense as he grows with experience and he's lucky that he's got Opie (Bosson) and Suppy (Shafiq) there to give him good advice. And Jamie and his Dad, Paul Richards, are terrific with the apprentices, so it's all working well”.

Total Excess is the first foal from Avail (Exceed and Excel), in turn from the Zabeel mare Avabelle. His third dam, Eye Full (Palatable), was a highly regarded winner of 11 races including the Hawkes Bay Cup (Gr. 3, 2200m) and finished second in what was then the Group One New Zealand Cup (3200m).

“He's from a terrific family of the late Mick and Melba Murfitt,” Ellis said. “They bred and raced Eye Full, who was by Palatable, a very successful sire that they stood at Riccarton Stud.”

A beautifully balanced, athletic horse, very much in the mould of his sire Delago Deluxe (Encosta De Lago), an unbeaten Champion 2YO in South Africa. By champion sire Encosta De Lago, Delago Deluxe was sold as a yearling in Australia, before becoming a Group One winner at two and three years of age.

Total Excess was strapped by Mikaila King.

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz