There are great race days on the calendar each year especially during carnival time, but nothing compares to a Group 1 win for owners especially when a horse in which they have an interest competes regularly at that elite level. AELIANA (NZ) drew on her strength and tremendous determination to overhaul stablemate Lindermann in the final 100 metres of Saturday’s Group 1 Ranvet Stakes. Her jockey James McDonald was looking to make history as up until this race he had ridden the winners of 128 Group 1 races. Winning on AELIANA (NZ) on Saturday would enable him to equal the exiting record of 129 wins held by the legendary Damien Oliver. The mare put her best foot forward, won the Ranvet Stakes enabling James to equal Damien’s record.
It was a memorable day for all of us with the win taking AELIANA’s career earnings currently to $3.5 million. We offer a big thank you to Chris Waller and his great team for their wonderful work with AELIANA (NZ). Guy Mulcaster recommended the filly to us at the NZB Karaka yearling sale, so we extend huge thanks to him and to James McDonald ongoing thanks for the wonderful ride on our mare; what a team. We are most appreciative of the overwhelming support for AELIANA (NZ) and the tremendous response by very many people to her win on Saturday. It was simply one of our most memorable days.
AELIANA (NZ) settled second last in the small field as her stablemate Lindermann dictated proceedings at a controlled tempo under Nash Rawiller. With the race developing into a sit-and-sprint, it quickly became apparent that timing and toughness would be crucial.
Lindermann kicked strongly on straightening under Nash and quickly put a break on his rivals, turning the contest into a genuine test for those chasing. For a few strides, it appeared he may have stolen the race, and while AELIANA (NZ) loomed ominously to his outside, she was made to work every step of the way.
It didn’t look easy, but she always had him covered.
Under McDonald, AELIANA (NZ) gradually reeled in her stablemate, her superior class telling late as she edged clear to score by a short neck, with Sir Delius (GB) running on from the rear into third, a further three-quarters of a length away.
Trainer Chris Waller was quick to praise both the winner and the runner-up, noting the race developed into a true contest between the stablemates.
“She was made to fight for it,” Waller said. “He’s a good horse on his day and I think Nash controlled the race really well. She had to be good to win and obviously Sir Delius on our back, that gave me a bit of a scare when he came with us. But you could just see, they sort of broke clear of him and then it was a fight between the stablemates.”
McDonald echoed the sentiment, highlighting AELIANA’s toughness in a race that didn’t pan out ideally.
“She’s just incredible. Her tenacity to find the line was just superb,” he said. “She’s been building to something like that and I’ve got to give credit to the second horse because they made us work. I was thinking, this is not how the script’s supposed to go.
“Nash is a genius when it comes to that. He just gets things on his own terms… it wasn’t ideal, that’s for sure, because he had a picnic up in front. But I was on a good horse and she deservedly won that one.”
