Now that’s a great call – The rise of Auckland Reactor

Auckland Reactor well and truly proved himself a superstar, indeed very few horses created quite the buzz that the son of Mach Three did during his career, and if there was one early defining moment, one performance that made people recognise that the ‘superstar’ label might well become attached to the son of Mach Three, it could well have been his effortless, arrogant, and stunning win in the Sires Stakes Final of 2007

Auckland Reactor, it could be argued, had a slightly unconventional preparation leading into the final, a Sires Stakes heat win at Forbury was then followed by a trip to South Bay Racecourse Kaikoura for a standing start over extra distance, the victory there an impressive front-running effort that came at the expense of Arma Fake and Elrae Night.

While a picket fence formline was well and truly forming (the star had now gone 4/4 in his limited starts) the major hurdle the Mark Purdon and Grant Payne trained runner faced when meeting the final field was a seemingly woeful #9 draw. Despite the wide barrier what was to transpire truly set Auckland Reactor apart from his peers, a mid-race move to parked may have proved too much for most but the nature of his sprint from that position to hit the lead with a furlong to go was something seldom seen in feature events. With wings attached Auckland Reactor was simply superb.

As commentator Darren Tyquin put it so perfectly – “Auckland Reactor hits the lead down at the 200m mark and exploded away” that accurate statement quickly followed by ”we’ve seen a star today”

Auckland Reactor proves his class and quality, striding away to win the Sires Stakes final in 2.21.9 over the 1950m mobile trip.

Auckland Reactor would continue his winning ways post his Sires Stakes victory, his winning streak coming to an end in early 2009 when facing up behind the tapes in the Futurity Stakes at Cambridge and being downed by All Tiger after he’d lost 50 meters in a bungled start, the fact that the horse was even able to mount a charge to claim victory despite the early indiscretion spoke volumes of the sheer talent that the Auckland Reactor possessed.

Standing at stud after his well-publicized overseas escapades, Auckland Reactor continues to find success as a sire, Chase Auckland, with his $800’000 in career earnings, a notable son.

The beaten brigade.

Fiery Falcon, placed 2nd in the Sires’ Stakes final, powered on, winning the Gr1 Northern Derby and 3YO Emerald Jewels of 2008 in a career that would see him surpass the $500’000 earnings mark.

Ohoka Arizona, placed 6^th in the race, would also go on to siring duties after winning 8 times in a shortened 28 start career on the track – among his victories a memorable win in the Harness Jewels 2YO Emerald which took place a number of months before his showdown with Auckland Reactor and company at Addington.

Benny Mac, placed 3^rd in the final, won some 22 races in total, placing 3^rd in the Gr1 Queensland Derby of 2008 behind Standelle and Im Full Of Fire, he last raced at Redcliffe in early 2016.

By Harnesslink Media