Carrying the famed Te Akau colours to victory at Pukekohe on Friday was promising Savabeel colt Hall of Fame, a $100,000 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale purchase from the draft of Newgate Farm.
Narrowly beaten on debut at Hasting last month, he made amends in no uncertain terms when dashing away to win the 1200 metre maiden by more than four and a half lengths as a hot favourite.
Trained by Steve Autridge and Jamie Richards, Hall of Fame is the first winner for Around the Clock, a winning Galileo (IRE) mare from the family of Victoria Derby winner Nothin’ Leica Dane.
Hall of Fame was sent to New Zealand after the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and was re-offered at the NZB Ready to Run Sale by Lyndhurst Farm fetching $230,000 when secured by David Ellis for Te Akau Racing.
The ease of his win may have staved off the original plan to send Hall of Fame immediately to the paddock
“The plan was to put him away, but there is a race at Ellerslie over 1400 metres in a couple of weeks (the Listed Great Northern Foal Stakes on May 28) so we might have a look at that,” Richards said.