Queensland trainer Liam Birchley continued his great association with the TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) when recording his third win in the juvenile feature at Ellerslie on Saturday.
He had previously won the $1 million race in 2010 with Sister Havana before doubling his tally in 2015 with Hardline, while he also finished runner-up in the race in 2009 with Sarge In Charge.
He returned to New Zealand with two contenders for his year’s running, including Dream Roca and Vanzadee, and it was the former who gave Birchley his third Karaka Millions crown following a gun ride by Australian hoop Ben Thompson.
From her ace draw, the daughter of El Roca enjoyed an economical trip in the trail behind pacemaker Magill throughout, and while she needed the entire length of the straight to nab the Hawke’s Bay gelding, she showed her tenacity in the closing stages to reel in her foe to win by a long head.
“We were lucky enough to draw number one, which saves you a lot of work in the run, she could take it easy and save her best for the end, which we needed to,” Birchley said.
“From barrier one you are going to get the best run no matter what if you have got the right jockey. He (Thompson) is an emerging superstar.”
Birchley was rapt to record his third win in the race and said it was particularly sentimental given one of her owners passed away just weeks before the race.
“It’s tremendous to get it three times, I know how hard it is to win it, and the standard here of the two-year-olds has improved markedly over the last 10 years,” he said.
“I have got a lot of really close friends in this horse that go back a long way. One of the owners has just died recently and he named her, so it means a lot.”
It was the first meeting Thompson has ridden in in New Zealand, and he was duly rapt with his immediate success.
“It is very surreal, it is an amazing track,” he said.
“She is just a class filly. All credit to Liam Birchley, he is a brilliant trainer and it fills you with so much confidence when riding any horse of his, especially a two-year-old. It is the third time he has won this race, so it is great to partner up with him.
“The track has been playing so fair, I had to just be patient and wait for a run, and she gave me a great kick.”
Bred by Westbury Stud principal Gerry Harvery, Dream Roca is out of five-win Redwood mare Petrachor, a half-sister to stakes performer Niobe.
She was offered through Westbury Stud’s 2025 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 2 Yearling Sale draft where she was purchased by Birchley, under his Bloodstock Solutions banner, for $75,000.
She has now won two and placed in one of her three starts to date and has earned more than $625,000 in prizemoney.