Millwood Nike (NZ) a Class Above Rivals in Fillies Feature

Millwood Nike (NZ) (Captaintreacherous) showed the speed and stamina of a top filly in the making when she dashed away from her rivals to win the $26,000 Group Three Helen Pope Two-Year-Old Fillies Stakes (1700m) at Ashburton on Sunday. 

The unbeaten two-year-old and driver Olivia Thornley were forced to sit parked in the feature event, but Millwood Nike shrugged off her mid-race work with ease when exploding away on the home straight to win by nearly five lengths.

Millwood Nike was purchased by trainers Mark Purdon and Hayden Cullen under their All Stars Racing banner at the 2021 Christchurch National Yearling Sale from the draft of Millwood Farm.

Millwood Nike was forced to sit parked when one of her rivals held the front in Sunday’s feature. However, it only made the Purdon and Cullen trained filly’s victory more impressive, which was reflected in Olivia Thornley’s praise for Millwood Nike.

“I think she is a special filly,” Thornley said.

“She showed how tough she was and how quick she is when she outsprinted them up the straight. It was pretty special.”

The Purdon-Cullen stable plan to spell Millwood Nike following her Two-Year-Old Stakes win.

The filly’s victory gave Olivia Thornley her third win at stakes level, with all three claimed under the All Stars Racing stable with NZB Standardbred graduates.

Thornley drove star two-year-old Don’t Stop Dreaming (NZ) (Bettor’s Delight) to win both the $60,000 Group Two Diamond Creek Farm Classic (2200m) at Ascot Park and the $46,000 Group Two Macca Lodge Kindergarten Stakes (1609m) at Wyndham.

Consignor Millwood Farm currently has Millwood Nike’s dam Albuquerque (NZ) (Bettor’s Delight) listed for sale on NZB’s online subsidiary gavelhouse.com Standardbred. Albuquerque is offered in foal to highly popular freshman sire Captain Crunch (USA).

Captain Crunch’s stock were in hot demand at last month’s National Standardbred Weanling Sale at Karaka, where his youngsters sold at an average of $35,000 in their first offering at auction in New Zealand.