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AUS v BAN live on SN ExtraAyteem dominant at New Plymouth
Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • August 15th, 2026 4:27 pm
Ayteem winning the Grangewilliam Stud (2000m) | Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images)
Local gelding Ayteem put in the performance of his career when scoring his second consecutive win at New Plymouth on Saturday when taking out the Grangewilliam Stud (2000m).
From his outside barrier in the seven-horse field, jockey Chris Dell pushed his charge forward to take an early lead. Ayteem was kept honest by Urenui on his outside, but he continued to set a solid tempo up front which began to tell on his rivals, who were off the bit a long way from home.
He established a five-length advantage rounding the final bend, which he maintained to the line, beating What A Charma by 5-3/4 lengths, with a further half-length back to Mont Ventoux in third.
“He is pretty destructive off the front here,” Dell said. “He has now won four races at his home course at New Plymouth.
“They softened me up a little bit, but I was getting away with easy sectionals for him, and on these sorts of tracks (Heavy10) he is pretty hard to run down.
“He is a nice winter track horse, he wants that off surface, and he can outstay them and out tough them. He raced in the Derby (Gr.1, 2400m) as a three-year-old, so he has always shown us a nice amount of potential, and he is living up to it, that was his second open handicap win.
Trainer Janelle Millar was rapt with the result and said the Egmont Cup (2100m) at Hawera on October 3 could be his next target.
“Chris wanted to make it a true staying test over 2000m on a wet track and he handled the track,” Millar said. “I know one of them tried to take him on early, because the jockey knows the horse, and he was just too good for them.
“He has been in a long time. He has got the Egmont Cup coming up in October, so we will just see how he comes up. He will go out in the paddock for a week anyway.”
Later on the card, Cambridge visitor Honey Badger displayed her liking for Heavy tracks when posting her fifth win on the surface when taking out the Deb’s Folly (1200m).
Dropping back from stakes grade, the Group Three performer was given the perfect trip in the one-one by jockey Lily Sutherland, who asked her charge to chase after leader, and race favourite, Bella Timing with 600m to go.
Turning for home, Sutherland guided Honey Badger to better footing out wide and hit the lead upon straightening, and the Tony Pike-trained mare fought off the late challenge of Farravallo to win by a neck.
“It was the perfect ride by Lily, one out and one back, and I was pretty confident coming around the turn,” Pike’s racing manager Ryan Stacey said.
“She won’t be on the front cover of Vogue any time soon, but what she is is genuine and she loves track conditions like this.”
