A rare visit to the Wairarapa on Saturday produced a milestone for Tony Pike, who brought up his 800th winner in New Zealand.
The Cambridge trainer, who had saddled only three starters at Tauherenikau in his career before this weekend, made the 500km trek south with four runners and went into the meeting with 798 wins to his name.
Pike trained two winners on the eight-race card to reach 800, with Thooza taking out the Power Related Services Rating 75 (1300m) before Agera added the Pete’s Kitchens Feilding Cup (2050m) to his career-best campaign.
“I only found out about the 800th win when they told me on course,” Pike said. “I wasn’t even aware that I was on 798 coming into today. But it’s a great feeling any time you tick off a milestone like that and very satisfying for all the team.”
Similarly satisfying is the form of Agera, who has now completed a Cup double after taking out the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) in his last start on October 17.
Coming into the 2024-25 season, Agera was a two-race winner from 18 career starts and had placed on another eight occasions for total earnings of $81,490. His six-year-old season has now produced five wins from only seven appearances, adding another $173,250 in prizemoney for owners Gee Gee Investments Ltd.
That impressive rise through the ranks has brought a matching rise in the ratings and weights, with Agera carrying 54kg to his Matamata Cup win and rising sharply to 60kg on Saturday. But not even that hefty impost could stop the Complacent gelding’s exceptional run of form.
Jockey Leah Hemi settled Agera in second place on Saturday behind front-runner Sailor Jack, who pinched a break on the field coming down the side of the track.
Sailor Jack was going to take plenty of catching in the straight, especially with a 5kg difference in the weights, but Agera showed that he was up to the task. That pair went to war through the last 200m and Agera slowly but surely got the better of his rival, edging away to win by half a length.
“He’s had a great season and has just kept stepping up,” Pike said. “It was a particularly tough effort today to wear down that leader under 60kg, which was a big step up from the 54kg he carried in the Matamata Cup last start. He’s just in an outstanding patch of form at the moment.”
Agera has now had a total of 25 starts for seven wins, eight placings and $254,740 in stakes. He was a $70,000 purchase by Waikato Bloodstock from Mapperley Stud’s draft in Book 2 of Karaka 2021.
Saturday’s Feilding Cup was the fourth leg of the inaugural Prezzy Card Northern Country Cups Bonus Series, which began with Pacheco’s victory in the Poverty Bay Turf Club Cup (2600m) at Taupo on October 10 and Agera’s Matamata Cup success just over a week later. The third leg was the Waverley Cup (2200m) on October 19, which was won by Just Charlie.
A new initiative from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) and the Taupo Racing Club, the Northern Country Cups Series will see seven Country Cups staged across the North Island from October to December, with horses earning points for top-four finishes and required to contest at least three races, including the $100,000 Harcourts Taupo Cup (2000m).
Sponsored by leading prepaid gift provider Prezzy Card, the series is designed to encourage participation, create a competitive narrative between regional racedays, and culminate in a high-stakes finale on Harcourts Taupo Cup Day on December 28. The Harcourts Taupo Cup itself has received a $15,000 stakes uplift from last season.
Agera now clearly sits at the top of the table, having earned 10 points from his Matamata and Feilding Cup victories.
“He’s got two wins to his name in that new Country Cups series now, which is a great result,” Pike said.
“We’ll see whether or not we keep him going. He’s obviously in the best form of his career at the moment, but he does need that bit of fire out of the track, so we’ll be guided by what the weather does. If the tracks really firm up now, I’d say he’ll head out for a spell and then come back for the autumn.”