Toorak H. Falls to a Kiwi

The upwardly mobile He's Our Rokkii (NZ) landed his first top-flight score in the G1 Toorak H. Saturday, giving pilot Dwayne Dunn a Group 1 double, having been aboard Divine Prophet (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}) in the G1 Caulfield Guineas earlier on the card. Sent off at 6-4, the chalk tucked in nicely against the pine in a ground-saving position in midpack as Great Esteem (Aus) cut out the first 800 metres in :49.36. In need of racing room with 300 metres to travel, Dwayne Dunn angled He's Our Rokkii sharply off the fence, as Great Esteem showed no signs of stopping. Splitting horses shortly thereafter, the Kiwi-bred ground past a stubborn Great Esteem to win by a long neck, while Tivaci (Aus), who had stalked for the majority of the trip, took third another half-length back.

“I was getting sucked into a pretty ordinary spot,” Dwayne Dunn commented to racenet.com.au. “It was a little bit like Alcatraz–I had to get out of there. The tempo wasn't as hot as I expected it to be and I thought those leaders would kick hard. But this has been his real mission. He's come through the grades beautifully and it's just a pleasure to be a part of the team.”

“It's Ben [Hayes]'s first Group 1 winner,” co-trainer David Hayes told racenet.com.au, since his son joined the training partnership. “We've been in eight Group 1s this year and either been second or placed in all of them–so it's good to win one.

“The [G1] Emirates,” Hayes added, when asked what his charge's next race would be on Nov. 5. “With the great mare [Winx {Aus}] in great form it's a mission impossible. Just at the moment. It's not a normal [G1] Cox Plate year. I'll play chicken and run for a million dollars the week after. I saw enough of her today. Usually you might have a crack at the Cox Plate, but this might be the year to watch it.”

Runner-up in the G3 Phoenix Park 2yo Classic as a juvenile, He's Our Rokkii graduated at Benalla last September and would go winless until a handicap at Sandown-Lakeside six starts later Mar. 2. Runner-up in a similar contest there Mar. 16, the then-3-year-old broke through with a first group victory in the G3 Carbine Club S. at Randwick Apr. 2, followed closely by another win, this time at 2000 metres in the G3 Tjs Frank Pack Plate Apr. 16. Given four months off, the gelding returned to take a brace of 1400-metre handicaps at Caulfield Aug. 27 and Sept. 17, respectively, prior to testing Group 1 waters for the first time in the Toorak.

Pedigree Notes…

The best foal to race out of Clerihew (GB) (Lomitas {GB}), He's Our Rokkii (NZ) is the first Group 1 winner for his sire Roc de Cambes (NZ) (Red Ransom). His second dam is GSW Clerio (GB) (Soviet Star), herself a half-sister to MGSW and G1 Epsom Oaks second and G1 Irish Oaks third Bahr (GB) (Generous {Ire}). The latter, who also took third in the GI Flower Bowl Invitational, produced English highweight Nahrain (GB) (Selkirk), who went one better than her dam in winning the Flower Bowl and also landed the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Opera. Clerihew has a yearling filly by Thewayyouare and she was covered by Charm Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) this season. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

Saturday, Caulfield Racecourse
TOORAK H.-G1, A$502,750 (£307,037/€340,845/US$381,788), MRC, 10-08, Open Handicap, 1600mT, 1:36.18, Good.
1–&HE'S OUR ROKKII (NZ), 55.0, g, 4, by Roc de Cambes (NZ)
1st Dam: Clerihew (GB), by Lomitas (GB)
2nd Dam: Clerio (GB), by Soviet Star (USA)
3rd Dam: Lady of the Sea (IRE), by Mill Reef (USA)
O-M A Pilkington, J R Collinson, C Feneridis, Seymour
Bloodstock Syndicate (Mgr: D S Thomas), D L Elliott, G R
Lechte, R W & Mrs A M Hill-Smith, J Lechte, R Chapman, Hall
Thoroughbre; B-J R Collinson & C Feneridis, Auckland, NZ; T-D
& B Hayes & T Dabernig; J-D Dunn; A$302,750. Lifetime
Record: 16-7-3-1, A$712,207. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Great Esteem, 52.0, g, 6, Redoute's Choice–Park Esteem
(IRE), by Singspiel (IRE). (A$600,000 Ylg 2012 WI Sydney Easter
Yearling Sale) O-J Bester, Dr B Roberts, R McClure, Mrs B M
McClure, P C McClure, Cressfield Thoroughbreds Ltd Syndicate
(Mgr: B W Neill) & S J Webb; B-Cressfield NSW; T-S J Webb;
J-Chris Parnham; A$90,000.
3–Tivaci, 52.0, c, 4, High Chaparral (IRE)–Breccia (NZ), by
Fastnet Rock. (A$250,000 Ylg 2014 WI Sydney Easter Yearling
Sale) O-L Petagna, Ballymore Stables (Aust) Pty Ltd (Mgr: M D
Moroney), R & C Legh Racing Pty Ltd (Mgr: R P Legh), G G
Syndicate Ltd (Mgr: G G Peterson), B & Mrs C Dorman, Gurners
Bloodsto; B-Mr JB Cummings NSW; T-M D Moroney; J-Patrick
Moloney; A$45,000.
Margins: 0.4 len, 0.9 len, 1.0 len. Odds: 1.50, 30.00, 20.00.
Also Ran: Royal Rapture, Awesome Rock, Bon Aurum, Jacquinot Bay, Thames Court, Moral Victory, Counterattack, Cosmic Cube (NZ) , Miss Rose de Lago.
Click for the Racing Post result.