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The race now known as the Listed Armacup 3YO Stakes (1500m) is becoming a reliable springboard to bigger and better things for Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, and that trend looks likely to continue after a smart win by Checkmate at Ellerslie on Saturday.
The three-year-old feature was previously known as the Trevor and Corallie Eagle Memorial. Wexford Stables won the race in 2022 with the subsequent Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) hero Waitak, while they finished second last year with Grail Seeker, who went on to win the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) and the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m).
O'Sullivan and Scott returned to the $100,000 race again on Saturday, this time with the promising Checkmate. The son of Mongolian Khan had caught the eye with a strong-finishing second over 1400m on debut at Te Rapa on September 27, then won by two lengths at Te Aroha earlier this month in his only other start. The runner-up in that race was his stablemate Saxs 'n' Silks, who comfortably cleared maiden ranks in her next appearance at Te Aroha on Wednesday.
Checkmate was sent out as a $2.40 favourite on Saturday against a field with plenty of form and pedigree credentials. Jockey Warren Kennedy found an ideal position in fourth, one off the rail, and he had Checkmate poised to pounce coming up to the home turn.
Kennedy pushed the button in the straight and Checkmate changed gears, bounding to a clear lead. The highly rated pair of Bourbon Proof and Hinekaha produced strong finishes in their own right and gave their all to try to run him down, but Checkmate was well beyond their reach and cruised to victory by a length and a half.
"He's a really nice horse," Kennedy said. "Lance and Andrew think quite a bit of him, and you can see why.
"We got into the one-one spot and he settled beautifully, then quickened nicely and was very strong through the line. If something came at him, I think he had more gears there. He's a lovely horse and they're going to have fun with him."
Bred and owned by Ross and Corinne Kearney's Okaharau Station Ltd, Checkmate is one of three black-type performers out of the Conatus mare Signorina. Checkmate's full-brother Bankers Choice has won six races including the Gr.3 Anniversary Handicap (1600m) and Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m), and he has run third in the Gr.1 Toorak Handicap (1600m). Their half-sister Jodelin Gal, by Swiss Ace, has won six races and placed in the Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m).
Checkmate's own three-start career has now produced two wins, a second and $72,485 in prize-money.
"He was certainly very impressive today," O'Sullivan said. "It was encouraging to see him get around the Ellerslie track well. For a fair bit of the race, he was parked out three deep, so it was a good performance by the horse.
"We think he's certainly going to get a strong mile. His pedigree suggests that, and he has a good racing style where he can take a spot and then quicken. He's going to have quite a few options available to him through the rest of the season, so that's a good problem for us to have.
"He's got a good future. We'll go home now and make a decision next week around where we go with him next. We'll certainly be aiming for something pretty good."
The TAB now rates Checkmate an $8 favourite for the Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie on March 8. Wexford Stables also owns a slot for the inaugural $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) on the same Champions Day card, with Checkmate now sharing $8 favouritism with Savaglee and Aeliana.