Highly touted three-year-old Hinekaha justified some heavy support from punters as she showed her enormous promise in the Listed Grangewilliam Stud Oaks Prelude (1800m) at New Plymouth on Saturday.
The Andrew Forsman-prepared filly has been identified as a stayer of real potential by a number of pundits and is the $5 Fixed Odds second favourite for the Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m) on 8 March behind Willydoit ($2). She also fills the same position in the Fixed Odds market for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham at a $4 quote behind current favourite Leica Lucy ($3.20).
With Willydoit reinforcing his Derby credentials with a three-length romp in Rating 75 company over 1600m less than ten minutes before Hinekaha stepped out, the daughter of Savabeel lost nothing in comparison as she came out of the trail to hunt down pacemaker Eye Candy in the home straight for a comfortable victory by half a length in the hands of Craig Grylls.
Grylls admitted he had a few concerns before securing his home straight passage on the filly.
“They didn’t go real hard as I thought they would, but that might have been the lack of numbers in the field,” Grylls said.
“It had me sweating on a run for a while but I could see when we straightened up that the horse outside the leader was starting drop off so I just had to wait for that to happen. When I angled one-off, she did it pretty easily after that.
“She has a lot of class and it is very exciting to be on a filly of this quality. She has the best attitude and when we were coming back I couldn’t even get her to trot. She was just walking along and taking it all in.
“She just has that lovely, relaxed demeanour about her.”
While entered for both three-year-old blue riband staying events, trainer Andrew Forsman indicated during the week that his preference is for his charge to contest the New Zealand Derby.
Bred by co-owner Christoper Grace, Hinekaha is the first foal out of the Listed Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m) winner Hinerangi.
She becomes the 146th individual stakes winner for her illustrious sire Savabeel. The champion stallion was to the fore again at the 2025 National Yearling Sale at Karaka, where 35 of his 42 Book 1 yearlings sold at an average of $287,143, including the sale-topping sister of multiple Group One winner Orchestral that was knocked down to the $2.4 million bid of bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster and trainer Chris Waller.
By Kevin Robertson, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
