Trans Tasman double for Gold Ace

It was a big weekend for the first season sire Gold Ace, with the six-time Group 1 winner not only represented in the winner’s circle by his first New Zealand 2-year-old race winner, Distinguished Taste, but also by the smart Australian bred juvenile Max Power.

The Ken Barron trained Distinguished Taste was sent out the race favourite in his 2,600m event at Oamaru on Sunday afternoon off the back of two impressive placings in his only race-day outings to date.

Despite starting from the outside of the front line and a less than perfect standing start, Distinguished Taste quickly found the lead before handing up to the second favourite, Reflectionsofmylife.

In the home straight the final time, Distinguished Taste quickly put paid to Reflectionsofmylife, dashing clear on the passing line, then withstood the late challenge of the fast-finishing Prairie to score by a neck at the line, with a gap of two and half lengths back to the third place-getter. Watch replay.

Bred and raced by Roydon Lodge Stud’s Keith and Rob Gibson, Distinguished Taste is out of the unraced Art Major mare Art Buyer and hails from the same maternal family as the former NZ Harness Horse of the Year Roydon Glen.

Across the Tasman, Gold Ace’s first Australian winner, Max Power, continued his good form with an impressive 1:56.3 win in a NSW Breeders Challenge 2YO Colts and Geldings Regional Heat at Newcastle on Saturday night.

The Clayton Harmey trained youngster had to dig deep to get up on the line and showed plenty of his sire’s trademark turn of foot and will to win in a tight finish in doing so. Watch replay.

Like Distinguished Taste, Max Power is also out of an Artsplace line mare, with the 2-year-old being the only foal of the now deceased, unraced Art Colony mare Piccadilly Ellen. The family does feature a number of outstanding pacers further back in the pedigree however, including the likes of Another Party, Party Party, Champagne Party and Democrat Party.