New SW for Contributer - Contribute Wins G3 Taranaki Cup

Media Release - Saturday February 3

The sensational summer form of Robbie Patterson’s New Plymouth stable kept on rolling on Saturday with his first win in the Gr.3 Denis Wheeler Earthmoving Taranaki Cup (1800m) on his home track.

Contribute’s Cup victory was the 36th win of the season for Patterson, who now sits in fourth place on the New Zealand trainers’ premiership. He also saddled unbeaten three-year-old Shameless Boy to win an earlier race on Saturday’s card.

Patterson’s runners have earned more than $1.6 million, with six black-type victories headed by Puntura’s treble in the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m), Gr.2 Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) and Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m). Mary Louise won the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) and One Bold Cat took out the Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m).

“It’s been an amazing run, I can’t believe it,” Patterson said on Saturday. “I just hope it isn’t finished yet!

“Everyone always wants to win their home-town Cup, so it was very special to win that race today. It’s amazing, really.”

Contribute went into Saturday’s $120,000 race as the winner of four of her 19 career starts, including two in Queensland in August and September for Sunshine Coast trainers Stewart and Taylah Mackinnon.

The six-year-old Contributer mare closed out her Australian stint with an unplaced finish at Eagle Farm in late October, then went out for a spell before returning to action with an eye-catching fifth in the Douro Cup (1600m) at Trentham on January 20.

Saturday’s Taranaki Cup was just the second start of a new preparation for Contribute, and she rose to the occasion as the $5 favourite.

Ridden by Patterson’s apprentice Ciel Butler, Contribute settled in eighth place behind a fast pace set by tearaway leader Masetto.

Advertisement

Contribute strides to victory in the Gr.3 Denis Wheeler Earthmoving Taranaki Cup (1800m) for apprentice Ciel Butler.  Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)

The defending Taranaki Cup champion Colorado Star dragged the field up behind that rival and hit the front soon after turning for home, but Contribute was looming ominously wider out on the track. Butler got her balanced up and then got her to change gears, striding forward and taking command with 200m remaining.

Fellow Taranaki mare Hi Yo Sass Bomb chased bravely down the outside, but Contribute was going too strongly and held her out by half a length. Hi Yo Sass Bomb finished second, two and a half lengths ahead of the third-placed Saint Alice.

It was the first black-type win for Butler, who replaced Craig Grylls on the 53kg lightweight runner on the morning of the race.

“I’m absolutely rapt for Ciel,” Patterson said. “Craig was going to take the ride, but he just wasn’t able to make the weight this morning. He’s been struggling with a bit of a virus lately, so that’s not his fault.

“But Ciel thoroughly deserves this. She does all the work on this horse every day, and she had her in exactly the right place today.”

Bred and raced by Ross Bellingham and Adrianne Gemmell, Contribute has now had 20 starts for five wins, seven placings and $184,755 in stakes.

“This horse has done a bloody good job,” Patterson said. “She got back from Aussie and had a bit of time off. She ran really well over a mile first-up, then went straight into this good race a couple of weeks later. It was great to see her produce that sort of performance.

“We’ll have to try to chase more black type from here. A race like the Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.3, 2000m) might be a good option a bit further down the track.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Thursday July 3
Here is the full list of 27 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
So You Think 3YO Wins $100,000 Inglis Xtra Bonus
Good placement from the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable for progressive three year-old So You Think gelding Aloysius, who cast off maiden status at Hawkesbury on Thursday in a race that featured a lucrative Inglis Xtra maiden bonus.
Third Winner for Peltzer
Twin Hills Stud’s young sire Peltzer added a third winner to his tally with a debut victory at Canberra on Friday for the well named gelding I Show Speed.
Sires With Winners - Friday July 4
Here is the full list of 38 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Breeding To Win – Crystal Ball – New Season 3YOs to Follow
Analysis of the G1 winning 3YO’s for this season has made us realise how many horses on this list took giant strides from two to three, so we are looking into the crystal ball to find some juveniles we believe could end next season as G1 performers if not G1 winners.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Rosehill
There were six heats for juveniles at Rosehill on Friday morning and the winners include unraced youngsters by Cool Aza Beel and I Am Invincible, plus a Farnan colt that tried his luck in Group races in the autumn and was far from disgraced.
One to Watch – Hawkesbury
Super Seth has had three G1 winners in Australia this season and John O’Shea and Tom Charlton have trained two of them, so when they produce a lightly raced maiden winner by this exciting young sire we want to know more.
High-flying Pencarrow Stud offers well-bred mares in Online Breeding Stock Sale
The 2024-25 season has been one of the best ever for Pencarrow Stud, and some of the renowned bloodlines that have underpinned that success are now available for purchase in the 2025 National Online Breeding Stock Sale on Gavelhouse Plus.
2026 Golden Slipper Entries – Sortable, Sale Mail – Find Out More
The new season is nearly upon us and that means all over the country a new crop of rising two year-olds are taking baby steps in the best stables in the land with the Australian Turf Club announcing this week they had received 1927 entries for the 2026 Golden Slipper, so who is in the race?
One to Watch – Ballarat
Synthetic track meetings at Ballarat can throw up some misleading form, but a debut winner from the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable that started in the red and won by nine lengths is probably worth a closer look.