NZ Racing News

Trainer Stephen Marsh and syndicator Go Racing made it back-to-back wins in the Listed SkyCity Star Way Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on Saturday when Miss Janet took out the juvenile feature. 

The partnership won last year’s edition with Little Black Dress and they went into this year’s race with a pair of quality fillies to defend their crown in Miss Janet and So Fear, with the former having placed on debut at Matamata last month, while the latter was undefeated in her first two outings.

 
Miss Janet showed plenty of early speed from her ace draw to maintain her advantage on the fence and took up the pacemaker role.

She took a stranglehold of the race upfront and looked the winner a long way out, running out a comfortable 1-3/4 length winner, with stablemate So Fear running home well to secure black-type in third. 

“We were able to execute early and she showed a good bit of ability,” winning jockey Michael McNab said.  

“Across the top she just had her ears pricked and she felt like she was doing that speed very comfortably.

When I asked her to pick up just before we turned in, I didn’t think they would run her down off what she showed us the other day (when placing on debut).” 

Marsh was pleased both of his fillies earned black-type and he said they will now head for a spell in preparation for a spring campaign geared towards the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November. 

“Both were purchased by Go Racing and they are two nice fillies with good pedigrees and they have now got black-type, one at the thick end of it and the other third,” Marsh said.  

“It is really nice to get black-type with those sorts of horses.

 
“She (Miss Janet) was unlucky at Matamata (on debut), she got her head into the other partition, missed the jump and did a lot wrong. Michael (McNab) got off and said ‘I don’t care where she is going, I will be riding her’. 

“She is very good and in her two starts she should really be unbeaten. 

“She has done a good enough job, we don’t need to step her up to 1400m. We will probably put her aside and set her for some good three-year-old races, but we think she is top-class and you could see the race was over a long way from home.” 

By Home Affairs, Miss Janet is out of unraced Redoute’s Choice mare Janast, and she was purchased by Go Racing and Blandford Bloodstock out of Newgate Farm’s 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft for A$170,000. 

She has now won one and placed in one of her two starts to date and has earned just shy of $60,000 in prizemoney.

By Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

Miss Janet winning the Listed SkyCity Star Way Stakes (1200m). Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)

Go Racing could have as many as six runners nominated for the prestigious $10 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) in November.

The New Zealand-based syndicators have enjoyed a rich run of form in two-mile feature races over the last year, with Soul of Spain’s second placing in Saturday’s Gr.1 Schweppes Sydney Cup (3200m) being their latest result.

Jumping from barrier 11, the Chris Waller-trained five-year-old was settled at the back of the field by jockey Tommy Berry, where they remained throughout, before storming home to finish within a neck of the winner, Changingoftheguard.

“It was a massive effort from the barrier, and if he had drawn a gate, he would have won,” Berry said.

Go Racing Director Albert Bosma said he was proud of the performance and his team’s growing record over the premier staying distance.

“They walked in front, and he flew home,” he said.

“We have a good system for finding these top-class two-mile horses, and our recent results show that. We embarked on an ambitious programme to develop Melbourne Cup horses for our owners and the last 12 months shows the rise of that.”

In January, the Lisa Latta-trained mare Manzor Blue carried the Go Racing silks to victory in the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m), and she then finished second in the Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m), the same race that fellow Go Racing charge Tajanis was a narrow and unlucky second in last season. They then had Etna Rosso finish second in the Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) last year.

Bosma confirmed that Soul of Spain and Manzor Blue will be nominated for the pinnacle two-mile test of the Melbourne Cup along with the Joseph O’Brien-trained Omni Man, who was a winner over 2400m at Glorious Goodwood and was stakes placed last year.

Their Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Maison Louis is also a possible contender, as are their Auckland and Brisbane Cup runner-ups Tajanis and Etna Rosso. Both Soul Of Spain and Omni Man were sourced from the Arqana Breeze-up sale in France, which Bosma will be attending again next month.

“We welcome new owners to get involved in these horses and give them a live chance of being an owner in the race which stops two nations,” he said. “It’s easy, just get in touch.”