‘Jimmy’ looks a shoe in at HB-PB awards

Star galloper Jimmy Choux and his connections dominated the recent New Zealand Thoroughbred & Breeding awards function for the 2010-2011 season and are also favourites in several categories for the upcoming Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Racing Awards.

This year’s Hawke’s Bay function, again sponsored by Bate Hallett and Vet Associates, will be held at the Off The Track Restaurant on Friday, September 16.

Jimmy Choux, who was named New Zealand Horse of the Year for last season, looks almost assured of taking out the titles of both Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Trained Horse of the Year and Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Owned Horse of the Year while his owners, Chouxmaani Investments Limited, is one of four finalists for Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Owner of the Year.

Richard and Liz Wood, of Chouxmaani Investments, bred Jimmy Choux and are among three finalists for Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Breeder of the Year while Cierzo, the dam of Jimmy Choux, is one of three finalists for Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Broodmare of the Year.

The other awards to be presented on the night are for the Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Trainer of the Year for the most wins for the season; the Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay Trainer of the Year on winning strike-rate and for any horse that was a group or listed race winner during the season.

The awards function commences at 6.30pm and tickets, at a cost of $75/head, can be purchased from the Hawke’s Bay Racing Centre.

The finalists for this year’s Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay awards are.-

Trainer of the Year for wins: John Bary, Patrick Campbell, Guy Lowry & Grant Cullen, Paul Nelson.

Trainer of the Year on strike-rate: John Bary, Guy Lowry & Grant Cullen, Corrina McDougal, Paul Nelson.

Owned Horse of the Year: Firebolt, Jimmy Choux, Lady Kipling, The Party Stand.

Trained Horse of the Year: Jimmy Choux, Neversaynever, No Cash, Starguru.

Owner of the Year: John Bary, Chouxmaani Investments Ltd, Peter Grieve, Paul & Carol Nelson.

Broodmare of the Year: Cierzo (dam of Jimmy Choux), Golden Gamble (dam of Ambitious Dragon), Woodsong (dam of Firebolt).

Breeder of the Year: Sue Harty, Pat Lowry, Richard & Liz Wood.

Promising HB pair

They might have only been maiden winners but the Hastings-trained pair of Commett and Erbe suggested they should go on to much better things following their dominant victories at last Thursday’s Waverley meeting.

Commett, from the John Bary stable, made an impressive winning debut over 1200 metres while the Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen-trained Erbe followed up a debut second at Taupo last month with a dominant performance over 1400 metres.

Bary holds Commett in such high regard that he has nominated the three-year-old for the Group 1 $400,000 NZ Two Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on November 5.

The No Excuse Needed gelding went into last week’s race without a trial but had shown a glimpse of his ability with a 2-3/4 length win in a 1000-metre jumpout at Hastings on August 8. He was caught wide in the early stages at Waverley, after jumping from a wide draw, but moved up to sit outside the leader from the 700 and then took control in the home straight, going on to win by three-quarters of a length.

Bary said yesterday Commett is now likely to contest a $20,000 three-year-old colts & geldings 1400-metre race at Hastings on Saturday week as part of his lead-up to the Two Thousand Guineas.

Commett is certainly bred to be good as he is out of the Jetball mare Ginja Gem and thus a half-brother to Heredity, who has recorded four wins, four seconds and a third from just 16 starts. Ginja Gem is out of Half Cut, who won eight races and was placed fourth in the Group 1 Telegraph Handicap (1200m).

Commett is owned by Cambridge couple Peter and Chris Scoular, who also have Heredity in work with John Bary.

Erbe is owned by Hastings veterinary surgeon Richard McKenzie, who bought her as a weanling for $11,000 at a 2008 mixed bloodstock sale at Karaka. Now a four-year-old, she is by High Chaparral out of the Lord Ballina mare Herbaceous and a half-sister to Banchiere and Our Court, both of whom won eight races.

Erbe didn’t help her chances by racing greenly when second behind Enuffisenuff over 1300 metres at Taupo on August 12 and again wanted to float to the outside in the home straight at Waverley. But she was always in control over the final stages and won by two lengths.

Erbe is now likely to back up in a Rating 70 1600-metre race at this Saturday’s Marton meeting at Awapuni.

Winning double

Hastings-trained D’Goldie completed back-to-back wins when he outstayed his rivals in the $10,500 Rating 80 2040-metre race at Saturday’s Wanganui meeting.

The nine-year-old D’Cash gelding was following on from success in the 2200-metre amateur riders’ race at Ellerslie on August 20 and has now won seven races for his Hawke’s Bay owners, John Bary and Alan Chapman and more than $50,000 in stakemoney.

Bary, who prepares D’Goldie, said yesterday the horse will now back up in a $12,000 Rating 90 2100-metre race at this Saturday’s Marton meeting.

D’Goldie was one of two Hawke’s Bay-owned winners at Wanganui on Saturday. The other was Dancing Diamond, who resumed from a two month break to score a decisive 1-3/4 length victory in the $12,000 Rating 90 1600.

Dancing Diamond is trained at Foxton by David Haworth & Matt Dixon and is owned by his Hawke’s Bay breeders, Graeme Archie, Peter Foley, Colin Francis, Ian McGarvie and Bill Reilly. The Indian Danehill seven-year-old has now won seven races from 37 starts.

Acquit makes it five

Acquit, bred by prominent Central Hawke’s Bay thoroughbred breeder Sue Harty, registered her fifth win when taking out a Rating 75 1600-metre race at last Friday’s South Canterbury meeting at Timaru.

The six-year-old is by Towkay out of the Justice Prevails mare Out On Bail and was sold by Harty for $2000 as a weanling. Her dam Out On Bail is a half-sister to the 2003 Sydney Cup winner Honor Babe has left four horses to race, all of them winners. The others are Ocean Storm, Parole and Surf Patrol.

Ends