Panther made an impressive return to racing in the $18,500 New World Te Puke NZB Mega Maiden (1200m) at Tauranga on Friday and in doing so picked up a NZB Mega Maiden Series bonus of $25,000 for connections.
Panther was a $280,000 yearling purchase by Wexford Stables from Rich Hill Stud's Karaka 2024 draft. His promising two-start career has produced a win and a placing and $16,835 in stakes, which more than doubles when the $25,000 Mega Maiden bonus is taken into account.
The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Panther made his debut as an autumn two-year-old with a second placing over 1200 metres at Te Rapa on April 26. A spring setback meant his long-awaited second start came more than eight months later on Friday. But it was a performance that was worth the wait.
Drawn the outside gate in an 11-horse field, Panther and jockey Craig Grylls settled in midfield, three wide but with cover.
Grylls angled the $2.10 favourite to the outside at the top of the straight and began to warm up his engines. Panther powered to the front and went on to win impressively by a length and a quarter.
“We had a little setback with him in the spring and had to reset, so it’s really rewarding for our team and this horse’s ownership group that he’s put in a performance like that today,” Scott said.
“We weren’t sure if we’d run after he drew wide, but when there was a bit of rain and some scratchings, we thought the race might move out towards him a little bit. He was in the nicer ground, settled well and then let down beautifully. It was what we hoped for.
“He’s coming into the summer with fresh legs now, and hopefully he has it all in front of him.”
The NZB Mega Maiden Series is an exciting initiative by NZB and New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, generously supported by Entain. It sees $1m in bonuses up for grabs across 40 non-Saturday maiden races throughout New Zealand each season.
