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The NZ Oaks was won easily in the end but it might well have been won at the beginning.

Natalie, in superb form with three Group wins from three drives, thought so when she was able to swing in from three wide and get in front of Belle of Montana.

But her decision to improve in the middle stages to take the front while the sectionals were a little relaxed was the key to an easy win.

“She felt good and I though I will be off and make the ones most likely work to beat her. She never really felt like she would be beaten in the run home. A great filly and she was on her game tonight”


The win heightened the 3yo Filly of the Year award contest which Belle of Montana looked to have a lead after the Nevele R last week. Now it is likely to come down to the Harness Jewels in two weeks.

Princess Tiffany ran close 3.08 for the 2600m breaking by close to a second the record set by Spanish Armada two years ago. She continued a great run for owners Phil and Margaret Creighton and Braeden and Caroline Whitelock who separately set new records on the night.

One aspect of that was that the Whitelocks Kayla Marie completed a “double second” chasing Belle of Montana home in the Nevele R Final and Princess Tiffany in the NZ Oaks.

Bubbled Up again looked a little off her peak finishing midfield after having enjoyed a nice run


Credit: Harnesslink Media, 18 May 2019; Courtesy of All Stars Racing Stables

Spanish Armada, HRNZ photo

Natalie Rasmussen’s reserved, but powerful, raise of the fist at the end of last night’s New Zealand Oaks at Addington was a salute to a filly who she is fast considering to be one of her favourite horses of all time.

Naturally, nothing will ever quite measure up to the legendary Black’s A Fake, but if you asked the 16-time New Zealand Group One winning driver who was next, Spanish Armada’s name would be right up there.

“I’ve just got so much time for this horse,” Rasmussen said.

“She’s everything you could ask for in a horse really, she’s one of my most favourite horses at the moment.”

With brimming confidence and a strong knowledge of what was going on around her, Rasmussen was on a one-way mission in the $150,000 Group One last night and was never going to back down from the challenge of starting off the second row and having to work her way into the race.

“I just had so much faith in her, and what she is capable of.

“Her work during the week was exceptional I thought and she really felt on top of her game so I knew we were good to go heading into the race.

“The circumstances worked out alright, but she did have to work quite a few times in the race in tricky conditions.

“But her staying ability was always going to be her best asset and it showed with the way she really kept at it the entire way to the line.”

Despite the inclement weather, Spanish Armada still managed to stop the clock in a staggering 3:09.1, obliterating the previous best mark for a three-year-old filly in a 2600 metre mobile, which was held by De Lovely from when we won the Oaks in 3:10.9 back in 2010.

It was another magical moment for Jean Feiss, who has enjoyed a stellar run over the past few seasons.

And that fun hasn’t stopped.

The Harness Jewels are the next stop on the path to greatness for Spanish Armada and based on her performances over the past two weeks, she’s going to be the one they all have to beat again over the mile at Ashburton.

Bonnie Joan was a gallant second, beaten by a superstar, after doing plenty of work.

“She’s gone great, as good as she could have really,” Dexter Dunn said of his drive.

Upmost Delight emerged from the pack to run a strong third and earn herself a Jewels berth while Mark Purdon was simply beaming at the effort of Partyon who ran on strongly from well back in the field for fourth.

Purdon, less than 45 minutes earlier, had been tasting big race success himself as a driver when he partnered Spankem to win the Sires’ Stakes Final for the two-year-olds.

The Jewels leader in the Emerald, Spankem enjoyed a nice trip just off the speed before unleashing to win effortlessly.

“He deserved that big one,” Purdon said after the race.

“And with that run he was always going to be very hard to beat I thought.
“He’s quite an exceptional horse.”

Credit: Matt Markham writing on Harnesslink, May 2017

When competing at the ultimate level it’s the small percentages that can often determine an outcome and for Spanish Armada they proved a major factor in her Group One success in the Nevele R Fillies Final last night at Addington.

The brilliant filly trounced her rivals in the $140,000 feature to cap a magical night for the All Stars team and particularly, Natalie Rasmussen who handled the driving duties on all four of their winners but it’s almost a case of what is still to come being as exciting as living in the moment of another premier night domination.

Rasmussen’s small percentage saves in the Nevele R Final came early on in proceedings when she threw a few form analysts books out the window by handing up to her stablemate, Partyon almost immediately. There had been some belief that she might try and take the bull by the horns and led throughout, but Rasmussen said she felt taking the sit was the better option.

“I knew Partyon would at least get me to the top of the lane,” she said.

“And I knew that Dexter (Dunn) would put the pressure on down the back which would help our chances a lot.

“But it all worked out perfectly and felt more like a bit of a trial than anything else, it was a really nice run to lead into next week’s Oaks. She’s pulled up really well this morning and you would hardly know she had run in a Group One last night.

“I’m just really hot on her at the moment, she’s in such a good place and thriving.”
Owned by Jean Feiss, Spanish Armada has now won four Group One races and more than $600,000 in stakes with some serious money still on offer over the next few weeks. While rapt with her performance there was a little bit of perplexity about the effort of Partyon who didn’t quite look herself.

“I think she just probably hasn’t come forward a lot from her two-year-old season, where the other fillies had.

“Mark said she was just ok last night.”

Judge Mark Gallagher was unable to split second place in the race with Bonnie Joan and Delightful Memphis declared in a dead-heat for the runner-up prize after strong performances from both, particularly Bonnie Joan who worked off the second row barrier draw.

Less than an hour later, Rasmussen found herself in the winners’ circle again when The Devil’s Own emerged from nowhere to claim the $200,000 PGG Wrightson NZ Yearling Sales Series Open Final.

The two-year-old pacer looked dead and buried around the final bend, but Rasmussen knew if she found clear air that he would charge to the line.

“He trailed up behind the so well and I knew if we got a gap that he would hook into it and really go but it was just a case of how early we would get it.

“I thought probably second or third was going to be our lot, but the leader started to tire a bit late and we managed to get past him, it was a pretty impressive performance.”

The Art Major colt has been a gradual improver since beginning his career and Rasmussen has high hopes for him as a three-year-old.

“He’s a pretty fair sort of horse, I quite like him.

“But he will be even better next year I think, he’s got a bit of improvement left in him yet.”

Harness Jewels contender, Heaven Rocks stamped his authority early in the night when winning the Free-For-All event, but despite the victory Rasmussen wasn’t overly convinced the gelding was 100 per cent.

“We had him checked this morning because I just felt he wasn’t quite right in his gait last night and he has a slight fetlock issue but it’s nothing serious and we have got on top of it early so it shouldn’t be an issue.

“The big bonus with him is that his manners are getting better and better, he jumped something last night when we turned around to score up and went off in a gallop but came back to me nicely which he wouldn’t have done a while back.

“So we will keep him on the unruly for now as I don’t want to ruin all that work we’ve managed to achieve with him.”

The fourth win came of under-rated pacer Star’s Align who made us of a good drive from Rasmussen to scoot up the passing lane and win comfortably while you could argue that the victory of Australian raider, One Muscle Hill for former Kiwi Nicole Molander was also an All Stars success with the two-year-old trotter currently domiciled at their stable.

Credit: Matt Markham writing on Harnesslink, May 2017

JEAN & BILL FEISS

When it comes to total winners Jean and Bill Feiss don't match some but when it comes to strike rate they are simply sensational. Their first runner in New Zealand was only in 2009 when Sammy Maguire was sent over from Victoria to the All Stars stable for better racing opportunities here and won at Ashburton and on Cup Day.

Jean and Bill, who race their horses as a partnership but in separate names, moved on to buying horses to be trained at All Stars and what a list it is. It includes two, Two Year Old of the Year Titles, (Chase the Dream and Spanish Armada) the brilliant Messini; top mare and Sires Stakes Final winner Willow; Backup, Benecio, MacKenzie, and now highly rated Derby prospect, Vincent and the brilliant Riccardo.

It is not as if they have been buying big numbers, either. "I do a bit of research on the pedigrees and then we consult with Nat and Mark on type and it seems to work out ok so far," says Jean, who rarely misses a NZ race day when her small team are racing. Ok? A typical Feiss understatement.

Trivia fact: The association with All Stars was largely through Natalie whom the Feiss's have known for a long time and Mark was based at their former property Woodstock during one Australian campaign. Jean was with racehorses from an early age, rode gallopers in work and trained Sammy Maguire among others,

Credit: David McCarthy writing in Harnessed Jan