This weekend marks the start of spring and the return of Stephen Marsh’s rising star WELL WRITTEN.
There’s plenty of debate around where she sits right now and where she could end up among the best NZ gallopers of the 21st century.
Of course, the best of NZ are often tempted to cross the ditch and shop their wares against the best in Australia for status and greater prizemoney. That can muddy the waters, travel can bring some horses on and see them thrive and some go backwards. Much depends on where they are in their preparations.
Here’s our Top 5 list (subjective) of the best NZ racehorses since 2000.
- SUNLINE
Trainer: Trevor McKee
Record: 48:32-9-3
Prizemoney: NZ $14,200,000
The champion mare with the bold front-running style created a legion of fans both here and in Australia. She was named New Zealand Horse Of The Year (4) times and Australian Horse Of The Year (3) times. Winning an incredible 27 group races and always raced against the best. Her best distance was 1600m-2000m and once held the New Zealand record of 13 Group 1 wins until Te Akau’s MELODY BELLE surpassed her in 2021. A genuine freak and arguably the 2nd best horse to come out of NZ behind the great Phar Lap.
- MELODY BELLE
Trainer: Jamie Richards
Record: 38:19-1-6
Prizemoney: $4,224,049
A champion sprinter/miler and the only horse to win the NZ Triple Crown. She was a (2) time New Zealand Horse Of The Year winner and flourished in her 4YO season winning six of her eight starts including five of those at Group 1 level. She finished her career in fitting style showing her typically strong finishing burst to win the Bonecrusher Stakes at Ellerslie. Whilst she was a true champion locally dominating the WFA scene, she was tested in Australia on multiple occasions winning just the one race, the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes at Flemington.
- IMPERATRIZ
Trainer: Jamie Richards / Walker & Bergerson
Record: 24:18-2-1
Prizemoney: $5,950,167
A true champion sprinter winning 10 Group 1 races during her illustrious racing career in both NZ and Australia. A late bloomer, her career and champion status was somewhat rubber-stamped by what she did upon arriving in Australia under trainer Mark Walker. An affinity with the tight Moonee Valley circuit saw her win the McEwen, the Moir and the William Reid stakes in consecutive starts including breaking her own track record at the course (56.47)
- VERRY ELLEEGANT
Trainer: Nicholas Bashara / Darren Weir / Chris Waller
Record: 36: 16-7-3
Prizemoney: $14,643,244
Famous for not just her amazing racing career but equally her breeding being sired by the unfashionable stallion Zed, who once spent time serving Clydesdale mares on the South Island. Starting her career with Nicholas Bishara, it was quickly evident this filly had something special, she was big, green and gawky but with a devastating finish to her races. She won two of her three starts before joining the Darren Weir stable in Australia and then with Chris Waller where she flourished as an older mare. Her crowning achievements were the 2020 Caulfield Cup win and the Melbourne Cup win of 2021. After much debate as to whether she would retire, her owners sent her to France under the watch of trainer Francis-Henri Graffard and it was clear she was past her best and was retired.
Not only a champion racehorse but a great racing story.
- AVANTAGE
Trainer: Jamie Richards
Record: 28:16-6-2
Prizemoney: $2,166,001
A brilliant Two-Year-Old who trained on to win nine Group 1 races for the Tangerine Army. Bred in Australia, the daughter of Fastnet Rock was versatile and won over distances between 800m as a juvenile and 2000m as an older mare. She raced in Australia at the start of spring in 2019 and it was a failed two-run mission in Sydney which saw her subsequently spelled before returning to New Zealand. Her best attribute was her fight in a finish, a dogged mare with a supreme will to win.
