New Zealand-breds Reign Supreme at Randwick

Mark Chittick had to scout for higher ground April 1 to enable him to witness one of Waikato Stud's greatest days on a racecourse—and there's been more than a few over the decades.

The leading breeder was in a remote part of New Zealand's South Island on an annual deer hunting expedition but he made sure he tuned in to see I Wish I Win produce a stunning performance in the TJ Smith Stakes (G1) and Major Beel land the Australian Derby (G1).

Both horses, who landed their respective maiden group 1 wins on day one of The Championships, are by Waikato Stud's champion sire Savabeel and they were bred and are co-owned by Chittick.

The Waikato Stud principal was on the east coast, south of Kaikoura, at the back of horse breeder Richard Rutherford's Beltana Stud at Parnassus, about 130 kilometers north of Christchurch, which is said to be the country's most remote Thoroughbred nursery.

Chittick, however, was able to watch both the TJ Smith and Derby on his iPad after finding phone service.

Golden Eagle winner I Wish I Win, who is trained by Peter Moody in Victoria, has been kept to sprint races this campaign, and the dominance of his victory could see the gelding—and Chittick—at Randwick in the spring for The Everest, no less.

Major Beel, who Chittick sold for AUS$260,000 at Magic Millions on the Gold Coast in January 2021, when New Zealand was locked down, is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

"I am sitting out in the bush hunting deer and I've got a couple of mates around me and to see those couple of performances today with people who aren't interested in horses...there was more pressure on me than being at Randwick and it was awesome," Chittick told ANZ Bloodstock News.

"We managed to get a bit of service and, as I say, I had a few people around me who had flown in on helicopters that were not interested in horses at all but by the end of the day they became pretty interested."

I Wish I Win, a homebred who was born with a bent leg which prevented him from seeing a yearling sale, carries the Waikato Stud silks and joined Moody's stable in the middle of last year, subsequently winning three of his four starts, including the AUS$10 million Golden Eagle.

He defeated last year's Everest winner Giga Kick by a half length while Mazu was another three-quarters of a length away in third. Nature Strip  faded to fourth.

I Wish I Win's jockey Luke Nolen said post-race: "We were here on trial for that race (The Everest) in the spring, so I reckon they'll be lining up to get him a slot.

"He's a beautiful animal and because they've given him a lot of time early we're going to be able to see this horse race on for many years to come hopefully. I'm glad he ended in Moody's care, so I get the opportunity to ride him."

The success of New Zealand-breds at Randwick Saturday—not only the pair bred by Waikato Stud—was not lost on Chittick.

He said: "We're very lucky that we've got the best racing in the world three and a half hours away and that we are producing, and winning, our share of those top races. It is quite incredible."