Sacred Elixir kicked off a day to remember for trainer Tony Pike, giving the Cambridge-based conditioner his first Group 1 win in Australia, a tally that was later doubled when Provocative landed the G1 Queensland Oaks on the same card. Sacred Elixir also became the first Group 1 winner for the 2011 G1 Investec Derby winner Pour Moi, who is based at Coolmore in Ireland and shuttles to New Zealand's Windsor Park Stud.
Sacred Elixir broke his maiden at second asking going 1200 metres at Ellerslie Jan. 9, and filled sixth over the same track and trip two weeks later in the Listed Karaka Million. Given a near four-month break thereafter, the gelding traveled across the Tasman to take a 1400-metre Sunshine Coast handicap May 11, and was a fast-finishing sixth, ultimately beaten just over a length, in the G2 Sires' Produce S. at Doomben two weeks later. Fancied at odds of 4-1 to relish the step up in trip here, Sacred Elixir sat midpack and off the fence in the full field through the opening stages. Appearing full of run as he swung five-wide off the turn under Zac Purton, Sacred Elixir ground his way to the lead passing the 200-metre mark. He needed only a couple of reminders with the stick before drawing away to ultimately win under wraps. “I had it won at the 700 metres,” Purton told the media after the race. “When I was tracking up coming into it beautifully and everyone else was all crammed up, I just kept him out of trouble.”
“He's very raw,” Purton added. “There could be a lot of improvement left in him or there could just be a little bit more. But we know he is going to improve to a certain degree. He's a lovely big horse but he hasn't quite filled out into his frame yet and mentally he's still got to think about everything he's doing. Once that all comes together and he gets over a bit more ground, and being by an English Derby winner he's an exciting horse.”
Pike noted Flemington's G1 Victoria Derby in November is his charge's ultimate spring target. “We've always thought he was an extremely promising horse,” the conditioner said. “Being a 2-year-old and wanting to get him over a trip we hadn't been able to get him past 1400 metres, so the JJ Atkins was the perfect race for him on a big track over the mile. The Victoria Derby is the long term plan with him. He's got a real stayer's pedigree out of Horlicks's family. He's a lovely big horse now and he's only going to furnish more as he gets older. He's going to be a lovely horse when he gets to 2000 metres and further.”
Sacred Elixir is the first foal out of the winning Stravinsky mare Baltika. His third dam is the 1989 G1 Japan Cup winner Horlicks (Three Legs {GB}), also a Group 1 winner in Australia and New Zealand who also proved her worth as a broodmare, producing G1 Melbourne Cup winner Brew (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}) and G2 Avondale Guineas winner Bubble (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}), also six-times Group 1-placed. Four of Horlicks's daughters have produced group winners. Baltika has a weanling filly by Darci Brahma (NZ).
Saturday, Eagle Farm, Australia
JJ ATKINS S.-G1, A$600,000, BRC, 6-11, 2yo, Open Set Weight, 1600mT, 1:37.82, Good.
1–&@#SACRED ELIXIR (NZ), 57.0, g, 2, by Pour Moi (Ire)
1st Dam: Baltika (NZ), by Stravinsky (USA)
2nd Dam: Zambuca (NZ), by Zabeel (NZ)
3rd Dam: Horlicks (NZ), by Three Legs (GB)
(NZ$170,000 Ylg 2015 NZB National Yearling Sale) O-Raffles
Thoroughbred Racing (Mgr: K T Yap); B-G W de Gruchy,
Central, NZ; T-A W Pike; J-Z Purton; A$384,000. Lifetime
Record: 6-3-1-0, A$450,453. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Charnley River, 57.0, c, 2, Show a Heart–Wabble, by
Canadian Silver (CAN). O/B-Showtime Breeding (Mgr: R A
Cutts); T-S W Kendrick; J-K Mc Evoy; A$120,000.
3–Heart Skipt a Beat, 55.0, f, 2, Falvelon–No Time, by Barely a
Moment. (A$37,500 Ylg 2015 MM March Yearling Sale) O-D C
Irwin, Mrs J A Freeman, M S B Smith, J P Best, S Bates, M
Lanyon, N A Evans, J Howson, A Johnston, P R Burnitt, J
Croucher & W C Clark; B-M J & S C Murdoch QLD; T-L F
Birchley; J-J Lloyd; A$60,000.
Margins: 3.5 len, 4.8 len, 6.6 len. Odds: 4.00, 50.00, 100.00
Also Ran: Souchez, Dreams Aplenty, Oink, Redouble, Candika, Meet and Greet, Attention, Nikitas, Crack Me Up (NZ) , Punishing, Vasiliev, Our Cinderella, Jaws of Steel, Barbass, Cadogan. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
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