Glamour three-year-old, Chase Auckland returned to the stable of Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen on Monday, 11 June. He’s reported to be looking a picture and is ready start work to build towards his four-year-old season.
The star son of Auckland Reactor last stepped on to a racetrack on the 9th of March when he scored an emphatic victory in the Group 1 Woodlands Northern Derby at Alexandra Park.
He was then put aside due to curbing a hock.
Even though his untimely minor injury meant he missed the NZ Derby and Harness Jewels, Chase Auckland will still be a short priced favourite to win the NZ Three-Year-Old of the Year title.
Owned by the Alabar Racing Syndicate he won 8 of 9 starts including other eye-catching victories in the Group 1 NZ Sires Stakes Final (3yo colts and geldings) and, New Zealand’s richest race for three-year-olds, the NZ Yearling Sales Series Final. With $392,329 in stakes he was the second only to Lazarus as the highest stake earner in New Zealand for the season.
The delight of the Alabar Racing Syndicate members was one of the feel-good stories of the harness racing season. No doubt the syndicate members, their supporters and harness racing followers in general will be counting down the days until his return.
Even in the absence of his flag bearing son, Auckland Reactor has continued to build on his early siring success.
With two new two-year-old winners in the last week, Auckland Reactor is now up to seven individual two year-old winners for the season – all of which are in Australia.
These new winners were Heir To Zanzibar at Mildura and Watch Me React in 1:59.5 at Narrogin.
They boost Auckland Reactor up to an impressive 41 individual winners to date in his burgeoning career. They include two Group 1 winners and one Group 1 placegetter. Three of his winners have won in sub-1:55 and 28 have won in sub-2:00.
Alabar Stud