The Kiwi chasing a Quokka in the race for Perth’s richest turf prize
Sprinters with a New Zealand influence have been making inroads outside of their homeland in recent years and Crocetti will be trying to ensure the trend continues in the $5 million Quokka.
To an outsider, the line that differentiates both parts of the slot racing equation might seem blurred in a labyrinth of intrigue.
In an industry that thrives on rumour and innuendo, those who aren’t in the know are left to speculate. It’s an entree of mystery designed to generate interest ahead of the main course – the race itself.
Yet the exact details of a deal are rarely revealed and only those at the coalface of negotiations are privy to the outcome between a slot holder and a racehorse owner.
Prominent New Zealand owner-breeder Daniel Nakhle has been on each side of the table over the past few months, and for him, staking a claim to a slot is the uncomplicated piece of the puzzle.
He prefers what he sees as a more challenging component of this racing format: having something that others are willing to bid on and trade to occupy a slot.
Nakhle, who founded the breeding and training operation Byerley Park near Karaka, was among the initial investors to buy a slot in the NZB Kiwi but he finds himself in the opposite corner as the owner of one of New Zealand’s best sprinters ahead of the $5 million Quokka.
No horse has travelled further than Crocetti to take his place in the handpicked field in a race that was introduced to the calendar as a continuation of the phenomenon that has added a different dimension to the Australian turf.
Auckland to Sydney. And then an overnight stopover before the Sydney to Perth leg to represent a slot held as an alliance between Trackside NZ and Perth Racing.
It’s a long way to go to pick a fight with Overpass, the Sydney sprinter who remains the only horse to win the Quokka after claiming the inaugural edition in 2023 before staging a successful defence in 2024.
But Nakhle is optimistic and Crocetti’s mere presence is a triumph for a well-considered but perhaps left-field mating plan that has unearthed the wildcard runner in Perth’s richest race.
“I think it’s easier to own a slot than to have a good horse,” Nakhle says.
“It’s harder to find a good horse than it is to find a slot so I’ll take the good horse any day, and it’s been really cool being on the other side of the contract this time around.”
Crocetti is in the upper echelon of New Zealand’s best horses as the winner of nine races from 15 starts and more than $NZ 1 million.
The four-year-old is trained in partnership by Danny Walker and Arron Tata and as a leading pointscorer from a summer series of New Zealand races, he also became an automatic choice to fill the jointly owned slot.
It was a straightforward process for Nakhle because Crocetti did all the talking on the racetrack. The terms were black and white.
That sequence of sprints represented a 2024/25 reset for Crocetti and included a victory in the Group 1 Railway Stakes at the expense of Alabama Girl, a winner towards the end of the Melbourne autumn carnival.
“Not only did he pick up a bonus cheque for winning the series, he also picked up the first right of refusal for the slot,” Nakhle said.
“So we were welcoming the team with open arms at that point.”
Crocetti is a son of the late sire Zacinto, who lacked high-end commercial appeal but provided Nakhle with a compelling statistic that would veto any thought of the O’Reilly mare Gracehill being sent to a better-performed stallion.
It was a decision that also complemented Nakhle’s ideology that sometimes there is no harm in breeding to race, hoping that success on the track would later yield results in the sale ring.
“Going to Zacinto was a specifically designed mating plan,” Nakhle said. “With an O’Reilly mare, the cross with Zacinto has produced somewhere around 37 per cent stakes winners to runners.
“It’s just an exceptional cross.
“And while we are always breeding to sell, with Zacinto I was that convinced with the mating that I was more than happy to take a punt on a less commercial sire.
“But the overriding philosophy in my mind, and a lot of Kiwis breeders’ minds, is you’re trying to breed a racehorse first.
“And the sales – if you do a good job there (with racing) – the sales success will follow.”
Crocetti has so far upheld his part of the bargain on home soil.
Nakhle believes the stable has found the right Australian race for Crocetti to build on New Zealand’s recent influence on the world sprinting ranks.
Imperatriz’s Australian season to remember in 2023/24 and Ka Ying Rising’s climb to the top in Hong Kong tell Nakhle there is a renaissance underway.
“The Australian breeders have made an art form of breeding speed horses,” he says.
“In saying that, we saw Jimmysstar win the All Aged last week and then there’s Ka Ying Rising.
“But we can breed them, and we’re getting better at breeding them as well. So hopefully after Saturday we can add another notch.”
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