Well-travelled gelding Family Folks launched a powerful finish from near the back of the field to collect his first New Zealand victory in the Mark Sanders Memorial (1400m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.
The son of Snitzel was born, raised and sold in Australia, then headed to Hong Kong and won five times in a 37-start career for owner Wing Keung So.
The eight-year-old has found a new home this season with Cambridge trainers Tim and Margaret Carter, who now own him. He went winless in his first nine starts in New Zealand, but showed promising signs with close-up finishes behind the likes of Tomodachi, Irish Legacy, Penman and Croupier. Family Folks headed into Saturday’s race on the back of a second placing at Tauranga on June 21, where he was beaten by a nose by Kai Moana.
Saturday was finally his day. Family Folks was patiently ridden in the $35,000 race by apprentice jockey Yuga Okubo, dropping out near the back of the field as four horses slugged it out in front and set a torrid pace.
Okubo saved ground closer to the inside at the home turn as most of the field went wide in search of better footing. Family Folks quickened through underneath them, surging past nine horses in the straight and getting up to win by a length and three-quarters from Jethro Tull and Florin.
It was the second win on the Te Rapa card for Okubo, who scored a front-running victory on Ribkraka earlier in the afternoon. He later completed a treble with Drop Of Something in the UBP Te Awamutu Cup (1600m).
“It was a good effort by our horse and a fantastic ride by the young jockey,” Tim Carter said. “I think he’s a real up-and-comer – he’s got good balance, can use the stick in both hands, and horses really run for him.
“I do feel a bit sorry for the other apprentice, Gareth Lahoud, who was a close second on him last start. We got our messages a bit mixed up and didn’t think he’d be riding at the meeting today, otherwise he would have been on him. But we’re very happy to get the result.”
Family Folks is a son of the New Zealand-bred Ustinov mare Miss Sharapova, who was trained by Ken and Bev Kelso and won four races along with a third in the Gr.3 Lowland Stakes (2100m) and a fourth in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
Arrowfield Stud bred Family Folks and offered him at the 2018 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, where the Hong Kong Jockey Club bought him for A$900,000.
From 47 starts, Family Folks has now recorded six wins and seven placings and has earned more than $1.48 million.
“Morgan (Carter, son) and I have bought horses for that Hong Kong owner over a number of years,” Tim Carter said. “This horse actually beat Lucky Sweynesse in a 1200m race at Happy Valley one day (in June 2022). He won a few races in Hong Kong, but then his form fell away a bit and the owner decided he wouldn’t be able to go much further up there.
“They said we could try him out here in New Zealand and see if we could pick up a win or two with him. We’ve done that now and it’s a great feeling.”
Family Folks went into Saturday’s race with a rating of 64, which will now increase – forcing his connections into a change of plans.
“I think we’ve blown it,” Carter said. “There’s a Rating 65 Benchmark race coming up at New Plymouth in two weeks that’s worth quite a nice stake of $50,000. That was the target that we were thinking of having a crack at with this horse, but now I think we’ll need to come up with a new plan.”