While at OTI there is no shortage of New Zealand-bred horses crossing the ditch to Australia, we rarely have one going the reverse direction. However this Saturday, the lure of a slot with RACE Inc in the $3.5m NZB Kiwi will see Perfumist line up. On the day, she will be joined by the locally trained Golden Century in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby.
Perfumist and Golden Century have different origins for OTI owners. Perfumist was acquired from the 2023 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka – the source of so many top horses, while Golden Century was purchased in a private deal, as so many top OTI stayers have been in the past.
A top run by Golden Century will possibly see him head across to the Group 1 Australian Derby in April. Tony Pike, who has done a marvellous job in having him ready to be competitive in the Derby, will retain him for the balance of the preparation.
Perfumist on the other hand will likely have a spell after this race. She has won four of her last five races and was second in the fifth. A win will give her a slot in the $10m Golden Eagle in Sydney, a lovely bonus on top of the Kiwi purse.
Perfumist win at Rosehill in January 2025.
Many OTI owners will be making the trek to Auckland on the weekend. Let’s hope their pockets will be full of those lovely kiwi dollars and great memories of their horse’s achievements.