Taupō secures its richest race
By Dan Hutchinson
Former winner Savaglee was the best 3-year-old colt in NZ and has now retired to be a stallion at Mapperley Stud.
Taupō Racing Club is gearing up for its biggest race meeting to date on August 16, with Stud Day headlined by the $100,000 Chittick Family Fillies Classic — the club's first-ever listed race.
The 1100-metre Chittick Family Fillies Classic carries $80,000 in base stakes from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), with the club and its sponsors contributing a further $20,000 to make it the richest prize in the club's history.
"This will be the biggest prize we've ever had. We've never had a listed race before," says Taupō Racing Club president Terry Campbell.
The club has run a 3-year-old fillies race for the last 10 years, with a $40,000 stake, but and the industry has lifted the Status to a Listed Stakes Race placing the event in the top1% of racing features in New Zealand.
Terry says it will put nationwide interest on Taupō as the first important fillies race of the new season.
The Poverty Bay Turf Club sponsors a 3-year-old Colts and Geldings over 1100m on the same day and this will run for $50,000.
As the first major fillies race of the season, it's expected to attract strong interest from trainers, owners and racing fans across the North Island and beyond.
Former Filly of the Year Alabama Lass kicked off her three-year-old campaign with a runaway win in a three-year-old fillies race at Taupō in August 2024.
Six of New Zealand's biggest studs are sponsoring the day, and New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders has invited members from across the North Island to attend. It is free to attend with racing starting about midday.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders invites its members to come to the day from all over the North Island.
“That way they can all talk horses together and where they're going to send their brood mares. “The studs love being involved — they're going to sell a couple of $15,000 or $20,000 service fees and they'll be very happy."
Prezicard holds naming rights for the Taupō Cup this year, with Harcourts continuing its support through a smaller race and the popular fashion-in-the-field competition.
Campbell says it took a decade of persistence to secure the listed race status.
"It's a lot of letters, a lot of meetings, a lot of turn downs, but we finally got there.”
The track was widened and resurfaced last year, with smoother bends designed to improve safety and performance for horses and jockeys alike. New wash bays have been completed.
"Jockeys are now saying why can't other clubs do what Taupō's done.”
The club has grown from three race days per year to six, with NZTR now considering a potential expansion to eight.
The evening before Stud Day, the club will host a sponsor and industry function at Two Mile Bay, bringing together senior figures from NZTR and TAB.
Campbell is set to present plans for future development at the Taupō track, including a proposed new members’ and sponsors’ complex.