An impressive G2 victory at Trentham earlier this month has thrust the undefeated filly Impendabelle (Impending) to the top of the order of entry for the $1 million R. Listed DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1,200m).
Bought by Brewers Bloodstock for $80,000 from Hallmark Stud’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2022, Impendabelle has now had two starts for two wins and $88,900 in stakes.
The Tony Pike-trained filly won by four-and-a-half-lengths on debut at Trentham in late October, and she returned to the same venue on December 3 and delivered a repeat result.
Briefly held up in traffic at the top of the home straight, she found a way through and produced a slick turn of foot to score by three-quarters-of-a-length.
“The best thing about it was that she burst through the tight run, and when she balanced, she really sprinted and put them away,” jockey Michael McNab said. “It may even have been too easy – she was all over the show. But only handy horses can do that. She was super.”
With that valuable G2 win now secured and her position in the Karaka Million field guaranteed, Pike is turning his attention to giving the filly the best possible build-up to New Zealand’s richest juvenile race, which will this season be run at Pukekohe on January 21.
“She’s a filly we have always really liked,” Pike said. “She has really improved through a couple of preps with us. She wasn’t the biggest filly when she first came in, but she has really strengthened and developed a lot over the last six months."
“After getting through the Wakefield, we’ll map out her program towards the Karaka Million.”
With her earnings now at $88,900, Impendabelle has a clear lead on the order of entry over another stakes-winning filly from Cambridge, Ethereal Star (Snitzel), who sits in second place with $57,300.
The next section of the standings is completely dominated by Te Akau Racing, who are searching for their seventh successive Karaka Million 2YO triumph.
Te Akau and trainer Mark Walker are responsible for five of the top eight horses on the order of entry. Trobriand (Kermadec) moved up to third with a win at Te Rapa on Saturday, which boosted his earnings to $36,590 in a two-start, two-win career.
“He’s very professional and he had to dig deep today, which is good to see in a two-year-old colt,” said Walker, who suggested that Trobriand is likely to have one more run between now and the Karaka Million.
Cover image courtesy of
An impressive Group Two victory at Trentham earlier this month has thrust the undefeated filly #Impendabelle (Impending) to the top of the order of entry for the $1m DoubleTree by Hilton Karaka Million 2YO (1200m).✨
— New Zealand Bloodstock (@KarakaChat) December 12, 2022
📰: https://t.co/GV5ybDDww7 pic.twitter.com/aZEg7jzZLy
