Demonetization (Aus) (All Too Hard {Aus}) became his sire's fourth black-type winner and second at the Group 2 level when taking the 1600m G2 Auckland Guineas at Ellerslie on New Year's Day (video). The favourite broke a step slow, but soon sipped up the inside to take a narrow lead from On the Rocks (NZ) (Alamosa {NZ}). Endowment (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) rushed past the pair three deep at the 1200-metre pole and Jason Waddell was content to let Demonetization sit second in the driving rain. Drawing even inside the final 600 metres, the Nigel Tiley trainee, who races for the N and P Balia Family Trust, had his work cut out for him down the lane, but clawed past a game Endowment to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
“The further they go, the better he'll be,” Tiley told NZ Racing.co.nz of the NZ$160,000 NZB Premier Yearling Sale purchase (lot 400) turned NZ$220,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs buy (lot 345). “I'm looking forward to the autumn.”
Originally purchased for A$65,000 as a weanling (lot 124) from the Inglis AustralianBroodmare and Weanling Sale, Demonetization's long-term goal is the G1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby over 2400 metres on Mar. 3, but Tiley is still mulling paths to that kiwi Classic, among them the G2 Avondale Guineas on Feb. 17, or Trentham's G1 Levin Classic going 1600 metres on Jan. 13.
“I have to choose whether we go to Wellington or not, that would give a nice break to the Avondale Guineas and then the Derby.”
Off the mark at first asking at Pukekohe on Oct. 27, Demonetization made it two-for-two at Tauranga on Nov. 18 and he was third to On the Rocks in the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial over 1500 metres when facing the starter most recently on Dec. 2.
Earlier on the Ellerslie card, Demonetization's stablemate Melt (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), who had waltzed to a 3 1/2-length victory in the Nov. 25 Listed Ashford Lodge S. going 1100 metres on debut, maintained her perfect record in the 1200-metres G3 Barneswood Farm Eclipse S. on New Year's Day (video). The crowd's pick on Monday, Melt stalked in a joint third on off the fence, as She's a Thief (NZ) (Showcasing {GB}) led the vanguard closely shadowed by Al Hasa (NZ) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). Switched out four deep in upper stretch, Melt let down strongly in the final 100 metres, winning by 3/4 of a length over the rallying Bit Lippy (NZ) (Showcasing {GB}). It was the same distance back to She's a Thief in third, who was a head in front of Al Hasa. The 2-year-old races for co-breeder Andrew Fowler and is now eyeing Group 1 targets.
“She can have a little bit of a break and she's not Karaka Million eligible, so we'll get her back for the [G1] Sistema [on Mar. 10] here and then have a crack at the [G1] Sires [Produce at Awapuni on Mar. 31]. She jumped beautifully and came back nicely. I thought with 200m to go that she was going to run a battling third, but she did what good horses do and pulled out more.”
Added hoop Michael McKnab, “She's only had two starts, both in stakes races, and she's put away really good horses in both. She's a beautiful little horse and I was able to slot in after the start and we got a beautiful trip. She was a bit flat in the straight, but when she wound up she really picked them up.”
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