Winner: Purple Prose Pounces Again

Presented in terrific order and perfectly ridden, Purple Prose (4 g Embellish – Lady Masako, by Iffraaj) won the $35,000 Windsor Park Stallions 2026 Rating 65 1600 metres on 14 May at Riccarton. 

Purple Prose provided the 130th win for premiership winning trainers Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson at the back end of last season, recently kept up a strong gallop to win easily by two lengths in the Rating 60 1600 metres on 30 April at Riccarton, and his third course/distance victory resulted in the 127th for the leading training duo this season.

Focussed in his preliminary and ready for action behind the barriers, Purple Prose slotted into a lovely position behind the leaders for Te Akau apprentice jockey Hayley Hassman (a2), and after ranging at will inside the 600m he sustained a strong finish to win.

On the poly-track, Purple Prose ran 1600 metres on 1:35.9 and paid $5.30 & $1.80 on the NZ TAB tote. 

“It was really good to see him put back-to-back wins together on the poly-track at Riccarton,” co-trainer Mark Walker said.

“He’s a horse that has taken a while to mature and he’s just that much stronger now as a four-year-old. 

“He handles the synthetic track really well, is able to quicken on it, and it was a lovely ride of Hayley’s. 

“Hayley (Hassman) continues to ride in great form, her two-kilo allowance is a real asset, and Hunter (Durrant) and our team of staff at Riccarton are continuing to do a great job with the horse.

“He was quite a tricky horse in track work early on but Hunter has ridden a lot of work on him and he’s got the horse worked out.

“He’s recorded each of his three wins over a mile on the poly-track and although now stepping up in class, I think he’s going the right way to handle it and win more races.”

Purple Prose winning again in Canterbury is certainly fitting, as his dam Lady Masako was purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis CNZM at the 2015 South Island, paying $23,000, from the draft of Pear Tree Farm (Waimate).

Retained for breeding by Te Akau Cherry Blossom Syndicate, Lady Masako was not disgraced on debut in a Maiden 2YO 1300 metres at Hastings, won by subsequent Listed Castletown Stakes' runner-up Honey Rider (Pins), but she retired after two starts and Purple Prose is her third individual winner.

Owned by the Te Akau Cherry Blossom Syndicate (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM), Purple Prose is a half-brother to stable-mate Elegant Lady, the recently-retired winner of four races 1900m – 2200m who was twice stakes' placed, and raced by the Te Akau Cherry Blossom 2019 Racing Partnership (Mgr: Karyn Fenton-Ellis MNZM). 

Purple Prose is the third foal from Lady Masako, out of five-time winner Lady Sakura (Jungle Pocket), the family of second top Two-Year-Old Lady Bay (Kingdom Bay), the dam of Group 2 Grosvenor Championship Stakes' winner Let’s Cruise (Zabeel).

“We know the family well and it’s great to see it producing more winners,” Ellis said.

“We trained Lady Bay, who won four in a row as a two-year-old, three of them stakes' races, and Mark trained her daughter Let’s Cruise (Zabeel), who was a really good filly that won the Championship Stakes at Ellerslie, and we sold her for her owners for good money to America.”

Purple Prose has a Sir Tristram bloodline cross in his sire line and Nureyev cross on his dam side. 

Incredibly Iffraaj (Zafonic) has produced over 560 winners as a broodmare sire, most notably Te Akau trained dual New Zealand Horse of the Year Melody Belle (Commands) whose 14 Group One wins surpassed the previous record set by Sunline (Desert Sun).

Purple Prose was strapped by Katie Dennett. 

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