The Listed Riccarton Park Function Centre Welcome Stakes (1000m) has been moved to a new position on the South Island’s racing calendar, but its first autumn running at Riccarton on Saturday brought no change to Te Akau Racing’s dominance of the two-year-old feature.
The Welcome Stakes was previously run during the New Zealand Cup carnival in November, when Te Akau won it with Maroofity (2002), Xbert (2005), Encosta Diablo (2009), Bespoke (2010), Sassy 'N' Smart (2015), Al Hasa (2017), Avonallo (2020) and Sky On Fire (2022).
That trend was widely expected to continue in the 2024 edition of the $80,000 race on Saturday, with trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson saddling the two favourites with Nucleozor and Discretion Rules.
Nucleozor dominated the market at $1.10 after scoring emphatic wins in both of his two previous starts, and on Saturday he completed a hat-trick with another blistering performance.
The Almanzor gelding broke well from the inside gate, but jockey Warren Kennedy was happy to settle in second as stablemate Discretion Rules slid forward to set the pace.
Kennedy bided his time until the home straight, when he released the brakes and Nucleozor made a spectacular winning move. He burst through the inside to take the lead and then bounded away, winning by four and a quarter lengths. Discretion Rules held on for second in a Te Akau quinella, while the local Lil Zena made up late ground for third.
Bred and raced by Te Akau in partnership with Westonlea Bloodstock, Nucleozor has now earned $92,000 from his perfect three-from-three career. He became the second two-year-old stakes winner in the southern hemisphere for Cambridge Stud stallion Almanzor, joining the Karaka Million (1200m) hero Dynastic.
"It was another really good win by Nucleozor ," Walker said. "He was bred at Te Akau Stud, which always makes it special when a horse comes from the farm as a foal right through to this stage, and especially to win at this level.
"We've always loved the progeny of Almanzor. We think he's an underrated stallion and his progeny only get better each year.
"What Nucleozor is doing as a two-year-old is quite exciting and we can only expect him to get better as a three and four-year-old. He's a horse with a lot of promise and we look forward to the future with him."
Nucleozor is a full-brother to his three-year-old stablemate Qali Al Farrasha, who placed in this season's Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and Gr.3 Sunline Vase (2100m). Nucleozor and Qali Al Farrasha are the only foals to race so far for the twice-winning Burgundy mare Nucleonic, who is a half-sister to stakes performers Tijuana and Mexican Tycoon. Nucleonic's dam is the champion Singapore racehorse Mexican Rose.
"He's proving to be a really good horse, Nucleozor, and it's quite incredible to think that we've won the Welcome Stakes nine times in just over 20 years," Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis said.
"He's a brother to Qali Al Farrasha, who is over in our stable at Cranbourne and preparing for the Australasian Oaks (Gr.1, 2000m) on April 27 at Morphettville, and the Almanzor-Burgundy cross is working incredibly well.
"It shows what a great job Hunter Durrant and his team are doing with the horses in our stables at Riccarton. Sam (Bergerson) has been down there looking over the horses and watched them all work this morning, and he's very pleased with their condition.
"We've had 15 individual two-year-old winners this season with horses we've either bred or bought as yearlings, and it's particularly exciting because we buy horses with the scope to train on and it gives us some really nice three-year-old prospects for next season."
Nucleozor's Welcome Stakes heroics completed a Saturday two-year-old double for Walker and Bergerson, who also saddled Star Shadow for a winning debut at Otaki earlier in the afternoon.
