 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2009
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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If you didn't think "wow" after Kiwi Ingenuity's win in the Pelorus Classic at Waterlea, the word would've almost certainly popped into mind when she demolished the Premier Mares Championship field at Addington last Friday night. Because, quite simply, Kiwi Ingenuity was breathtaking.
Keen out of the gate despite her wide draw, as was the case at Blenheim, the Christian Cullen mare was finally given her head by trainer/driver Robbie Holmes rounding the bend into the front straight the first time. She exploded forward in search of the lead, with arch-rival Nearea Franco matching strides with her on her inside; by the time the pair had crossed to the marker pegs starting the last lap, Kiwi Ingenuity had won the battle for the lead. Everyone knew she had spent some serious petrol getting there though...such exertion has to take its toll eventually, so she'll come back to the field for sure.
No, not this girl. If anything Kiwi Ingenuity pushed the pedal down further along the back straight, and when Holmes pulled the plugs at the 350m mark he felt the mare surge yet again. Nearea Franco and the chasing pack never looked like bridging the gap in the run to the line, and at the post Kiwi Ingenuity was nearly two lengths clear as the clock stopped at a blistering 2:20.9 - a 1:56 mile rate over 1950 metres. The $50,000 Group 2 Caduceus Club of Canterbury event had been 'over' a long way from the finish.
"At Waterlea, I was just a passenger down the back - and it was the same again tonight," said Holmes, who's in awe of the mare himself. "She was a nice 3-year-old, but she has just got so big in the chest this time in...almost like a stallion. And she's just an amazing, free-wheeling front-runner," he said, remembering back to how the Southland Oaks and NZ Oaks last season were both won in such fashion. "She would sprint for a half if you asked her to, and probably cover it in fifty-four or fifty-five."
Bred by Hamish Scott, Dr Kim Lawson and their company Equine Investments Ltd, they are joined in the ownership of Kiwi Ingenuity by close friend Abby Smith. The 4-year-old mare's now won them over $213,000, the return from seven victories and four placings in 13 appearances. An enviable record in itself, it is even more menacing considering she has drawn the 'ace' only once - and all her other marbles have been seven or worse.
"I'm really pleased for Hamish," Holmes said. "Because he is a breeder, and only a breeder really. They had a few offers for this mare early on, but he's always been a 'keeper'; it's like she is part of the family.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 28Jan09