Secrets Uncovered…
Again, we tried to evolve the awards process by bringing in more community input – this season with both nominations and voting, the awards are certainly a direct reflection of the entire community.
This season, both the public voting and panel voting had the same winners in all categories – we have published the voting results in the Award Voting Results page.
Thank you to everyone who nominated and/ or voted for the TK Nuts Awards, your input is appreciated.
Congratulations to all the Season 39 Winners!
*Thank you to the tk nuts associates for the penpictures of my awards. (pedantic)
Horse of the Season Secret AgendaDixon Racing The upwardly mobile Lara Blitzen mare Secret Agenda raised the rafters at Matto Grosso on a cold, wet and miserable Saturday evening when she stormed to victory in the Track King Masters, to become one of the youngest horses in TK history to win this prestigious cup. It’s easy to attribute good decisions to genius. But sometimes things just pan out beyond the wildest dreams by chance. Four weeks later the same team lined up in the Track King Open, and besides the doubts expressed of the mare’s stamina capabilities in some quarters, it was a formality. Strydom pressed the button on her early on and it was race over. Selected, purchased and trained by pedantic32 of Dixon Racing, the winner is a $4,590,000 sale graduate. She has won nine races with one place from 10 starts and took her stakes to $5,652,080. |
Stable of the Season Dixon RacingAstute acquisition of the best of blood and the fostering of equine dynasties has served Dixon Racing well, as can be seen from his results this season. The Gran Munich based conditioner has enjoyed a feature purple patch with seven world and two regional cups. He also beat some of the best trainers in a very competitive league, tallying 200pts, a number that hasn’t been seen at that track for many a moon. In a recent chat he quipped that “we are not finished yet”. His world cup victories included The Track King Masters (with a 7yo, and WR), The Track King Open (7yo), The Melbourne Cup, The Lowe Cup, The Grand Prix de Paris, The So You Think Cup, and The Sires Produce. |
Stable To Watch ForceAt a time when the game needs new generation heroes, it is refreshing to see emerging talent like the stable of Force. He has been cutting his teeth in a very competitive league at Lower Melbourne. He ended a wait when celebrating the first world cup winner of his career courtesy of the Australian-bred Wild Princess, who stayed on best to win the 2yo Limited Breeder Cup. He followed that up with a cracking win in The Aussie Clothing Down Under Sprint with Dasher six weeks later. He also made sure to leave an impression on departure from Lower Melbourne, conducting himself with honour and bringing home 19 wins and a fistful of places in league. Force is a young gun on the rise, and is therefore rewarded for his breakthrough season with this award. Take a bow, matey!! |
2yo of the Season Secret DynastyDixon Racing The Dixon Racing bred Secret Dynasty added to Secret Aurora’s growing world cup winners roll when she put her best hoof forward to produce an eye-catching victory in the The Sires Produce. Pierre Strydom had her relaxed in midfield as Denon and Nice And Square cut out the fractions out front. Into the home run, she always looked to be going well and she cut down her opposition, with only Willo Blitz and Wild Princess looking dangerous. She was too strong and went on powerfully to score in a time of 86,308 seconds, setting a new world record. She has won 1 of 2 starts for stakes of $532,400. |
3yo of the Season Secret EmperorDixon Racing Dixon Racing has an exciting 3yo on his hands as the Secret Aurora colt Secret Emperor showed when returning from a break to produce a swashbuckling performance for a good win in The So You Think Cup midway through the season. He had shown smart potential as a 2yo and was given a break after winning the Grand Prix Stakes. At his last start in the Grand Prix de Paris, he was allowed to amble along as Furiosa led the cavalry. The well bred Furiosa kept going dangerously at the 250m as Cyrus Banas appeared to have made a match winning move. It was Secret Emperor’s big day as he stamped himself a leader of his generation, humbling the much vaunted 3yo’s in the process. |
4yo of the Season Beep BeepTroublemaker’s The outstanding miler Beep Beep cemented his position as Track King’s leading four year old, when he captured two legs of the Triple Crown Series this season. The Troublemakers genius has been the catalyst to getting the talented Maddy Prime Gold Stallion Beep Beep into the winner’s enclosure. He showed his class when registering a smart win in the Australian Cup in May. He followed that up when he mowed his opposition down to win the Jewel of The Mile Cup at the end of the season. Tyesha Sparrow had the horse beautifully settled in the competitive looking eleven strong field, and was towards the back for much of the journey, as Corina Basley and Hotblood did the bidding up front. At the 800m marker, Sparrow asked him for an effort, and like a good horse, he stretched and cut them down smartly, passing Addie Over Angel inside the last few metres to win going away. A very impressive win in a time of 95,486 seconds! He has won 3 of 8 starts for stakes of $1,895,400. |
5yo of the Season New TerrainWoogle Wood Woogle Wood’s home bred Natural Champion, New Terrain has been patiently developed into what could potentially be one of the best stayers Track King has seen. After an early 4yo Trophy win in The Diamond Cup, New Terrain was put into what looks to be a “superhero” training regime and only emerged 5 months later to absolutely blow away the opposition in the Aussie Clothing Epic. New Terrain took the race by the scruff of the neck and never looked under pressure to seemingly cruise to an easy victory in a new World Record time of 164,814 seconds. One thing comes to mind when watching this horse in action …”The best is yet to come …” |
6yo of the Season Lump Of IceSootie Essentially a miler, the Sootie owned and bred Lump Of Ice showed his class when missing out on the 6yo Triple Crown by less than half a second when going down to Gumbet in the Platinum Plate over a distance well beyond his best. The imposing 6yo roan won the other two legs of the Triple Crown in impressive fashion, The Movember Crown and The Golden Fleece – both in new World Record times. |
7yo of the SeasonSecret Agenda Dixon Racing The upwardly mobile Lara Blitzen mare Secret Agenda raised the rafters at Matto Grosso on a cold, wet and miserable Saturday evening when she stormed to victory in the Track King Masters, to become one of the youngest horses in TK history to win this prestigious cup. It’s easy to attribute good decisions to genius. But sometimes things just pan out beyond the wildest dreams by chance. Four weeks later the same team lined up in the Track King Open, and besides the doubts expressed of the mare’s stamina capabilities in some quarters, it was a formality. Strydom pressed the button on her early on and it was race over. Selected, purchased and trained by pedantic32 of Dixon Racing, the winner is a $4,590,000 sale graduate. |
8yo of the Season Secret IlustradorDixon Racing Bred by troublemaker, Secret Ilustrador has found a new lease on life since relocating to the Dixon Racing stable. Purchased as an early 7yo, the tall Natural Champion has come on in leaps and bounds and has been raced progressively throughout his 8yo career. He showed signs of things to come when winning his Class 1 League debut impressively and was then aimed at the Class 1 Classic Cup in the Mediterranean Coastal region where the going was fast and he appeared to not act in the going – he won the Classic but clearly had some work to do to become a great stayer. As things turned out, his Classic run was the perfect preparation for the Melbourne Cup which also turned fast on the day of the final. He jumped well and led early, allowing himself to come back to the field before putting in a powerful final quarter to win with a bit in hand and a new World Record time of 184,268 seconds. |
9yo of the Season Gs TaffarelBodrumluck Gs Taffarel, bred by Reds Breeding Stud and owned by the super competitive Bodrumluck stable has always been one of the best of his generation. Of his 43 starts, he has won 37 and been placed in 4. In season 39, Gs Taffarel was certainly the underdog in the London Magic Mile at odds of 149:1 to beat the much vaunted Kingsman at 1.19:1. The two adversary’s met again in the Sussex Stakes 2 months later and this time punters were a bit more wary, betting Gs Taffarel down to 8:1 with Kingsman once again favourite at 2.8:1. This time however, Gs Taffarel was taking no prisoners – he jumped smartly from the gates and built an early lead with Kingsman struggling to keep up. Coming into the final quarter, viewers were waiting for the ultimate showdown, but Kingsman simply had no answer and Gs Taffarel won the Sussex Stakes with ease. With another season of racing left in him, this is certainly a horse to follow. |
10yo of the Season Blue CretheusSt Simon Racing A striking son of Dead Cat Bounce and bred by the legendary doneill, Blue Cretheus’s journey through his Track King career has been one of elation and heartbreak.
In a generation that boasts a string of quality sprinters, Blue Cretheus has proven unbeatable on his day, while on his off day he can be horrendous. In what looked to be the strongest Sprinters Shield assembled in many years, it looked to be another “one of those days” as he missed the break and had to work hard to find the lead early on. Find the lead he did and kept going strongly to hold off all challengers in an impressive time of 61,151 seconds over the 1100m trip. Blue Cretheus’ swansong would come in the Fast and Furious cup in June. Once again, a powerful field lined up for what is always an exciting race. This time, he jumped smartly and drew clear of the field – the writing was on the wall for all opponents that this was Blue Cretheus’ day as he galloped relentlessly to win unchallenged. He was recently sold to a breeding stable and we look forward to his progeny gracing the sprint circuit in seasons to come. |