Recently gelded Woodville winner Charlestown staked a claim for an Ellerslie start with a dominant performance tlady winning by 4 lengths.
The Lisa Latta-trained Charlestown had finished in behind the placegetters in both his previous starts in black type company and had been gelded since running fifth in the Listed Barneswood Farm Welcome Stakes at Riccarton.
“Robert (Hannam) got off him there and said he needed gelding and that’s made a big difference,” Bosma told The Informant. “He’s only been back two and a-half or three weeks so there’s a massive amount of improvement in him.”
Charlestown followed the pace today and when leader The Alcippe ran wide on the home turn he sprinted clear under Hannam. He won the Crowley Forge Master Farriers Juvenile untested by three and a-half lengths from Hearsay.
“He’s showed us a lot and has a super turn of foot and that trip to Christchurch has really made the horse,” Bosma said. “He’s a good-sized horse with a bit of scope about him and should be even better as a three-year-old.”
A $65,000 purchase last year from Westbury Stud’s Select Draft, Charlestown is the first New Zealand winner for the Vinery Stud-based Myboycharlie. The Irish-bred son of the Danehill horse Danetime won four races, including the Gr.1 Prix Morny in France, before retirement.
The Albert Bosma-managed syndication operation already has the talented stakes winner Ruud Awakening guaranteed a start in New Zealand’s richest race and their presence may well be doubled.
“He’s in the Million and that’s the goal and this should put him in the field, but only just so he’ll need to run again and that will probably be in the Wakefield Challenge Stakes on January 19th,” Bosma said. “He’s a good horse and Ruud Awakening could be anything so it would be fantastic to get two in and they would both be good chances.”
