JD Hayes: Trainer of event favourite Evaporate on why he's the horse to beat ahead of Champion's Day today

It's Champion's Day at Ellerslie Racecourse today, featuring the NZB Kiwi, 4 Group One races and the Auckland.

The races are the richest sporting event in New Zealand for 3 year olds to be raced over 1500 metres, with more than $9 million in prize money is up for grabs across the day.

Favourite of the event is Evaporate, who was New Zealand bred but trained in Australia, and considered one of the highest credential horses ever to race on our side of the ditch. 

One of Evaporate's trainers JD Hayes talks to Piney about the big day. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
ZEDB Champion's Day at Allesley today, featuring the NZB KIWI
four Group one races and the Auckland Cup are super
charged raced a more than nine million dollars in prize
money across the day. The inaugural four and a half
million dollar ENZB Kiwi is part of it the richest
sporting events in New Zealand for three year olds to

(00:33):
be raced over fifteen hundred meters. Race favorite is Evaporate,
New Zealand bred but trained in Australia and considered one
of the highest credential horses ever to race in New Zealand.
Evaporate is trained by brothers Ben will and j D Hayes.
JD is with us, Sir, why did you decide to
bring Evaporate to New Zealand for the NZB KIWI. JD.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
I look there as you touched someone with the prize
money and offer. It was too good to offer to
refuse and we feel like we have right horse for
the race. So he's quite short at the market and
hopefully the market's correct because he does bring very good
form lines.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, tell us about his recent form lines and a
bit about Evaporate the horse as.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Well evaporated himself. Well, well, the journey started when we
bought him out of the Magic Millions there on the
Gold Coast two years ago. Now we played three hundred
and twenty grand for him. He was a big, strong
cult that we thought would only be he really what
he did in the spring, this is the beginning of

(01:32):
what we think he can do for his career. He's
really a progressive horse in the stable. His last start
was Brave. He was three deep the trip into the
breeze and only beat a few lengths by some of
the best white performers in Australia. So he's a horse
that we're really excited about.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
How confident can you be when you bring more or
any horse in fact, across to a completely different country.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
Look, it's definitely an art. They have to have the
right animal to be able to handle the trip. But
he seems so settled in. Really well, we're being hosted
staying at Camp Start there with Lance Noble and they've
been so supportive and accommodating and the horses really thrived there.
So he seems to have handled the trip, so we're

(02:17):
very happy with aus.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah, how do you structure it? Because I've read reports
he looked very comfortable at Ellesleie earlier in the week.
How long before the race do you ideally bring him over?
What do you do while you're here? How do you
get him in peak condition for this afternoon?

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Well, he's actually the third horse that we've brought over
to New Zealand this year, and we brought here the
Shock over about months ago and we just found the
same blueprint that it get because it seems to work
with here the Shock he was able to win. So
he arrived on Thursday last week, he's had ten days
said lean, he was able to have two nice pieces
of work into the race, and yeah, just also it

(02:52):
also depends on being able to know when the flight
is as well, so you have to have sort of
walk work those two things in. But ideally ten days
before seems to be our recipe that works.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
And he has to race right handed for the first
time as well, is that right?

Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah, so that's going to be a question mark for sure.
But we took him to Ellieslie on Monday and he
had a look at the course proper there and he
seemed to have it really well and much strongly through
the line, so you never know un till race day,
but he seemed to be quite natural about it.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
And then you get to the barrier drawer as well,
which hasn't been overly kind. He has a ten, you'd
probably prefer to be three or four places and will
that affect things.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
At all, Absolutely, But we're an optimistic bunchhaft hases, so
it could be worse happy with ten. So I think
there's a bit of speed outside, so we should be
able to bol forward and hopefully mickeyd is able to
give him the run the race.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
You talked before about Evaporate being the third horse you've
brought over. Do you feel as though New Zealand are
starting to become part of the Australian racing ecosystem.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
One hundred percent. Look, we hadn't troubled the horses New
Zealand for years and it just shows when the prize
money is on offer, we will come and it's really
good for our owners. We've got all the Evaporate owners here,
they'd had a really good week and we're racing it.
The prize money is outstanding. It's good enough for us
to not go to the traditional path to go on

(04:11):
with the Australian Guineas, where Evaporate would have been short
in the market and very hard to beat because it's
just a lot more money a week later. So yeah,
I think New Zealand racing is in a really healthy state.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
So you're here for our cash. Basically you're here to
take our cash.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
Well, you have been the key weeds have been coming
over and taking ours for years. The reason we might
repay the favor.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
Fair enough, too, fair enough too. It's great to have you.
Do you get nervous before your horses.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
Run, Yeah, more excited because it's basically months months of
preparation coming to basically what two minutes of the race.
So more excited than nervous because the work's been done
and what will happen will what will be will be.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
And you must have a sense, do you before they jump,
or even on the day like today, you must have
a sense when you wake up this morning, that that
Evaporators is as good as he can be, that you've
you've given him the deal preparation.

Speaker 3 (05:08):
Yeah, Junior who's traveled him over, he's stirred up, So
he's stirred up his rock hard fit. He's traveled over well.
It was bright and well and he did his fourteen's yesterday.
It's lick to been this morning. All things going well,
but everything cross and it maintains it because twenty four
hours in all time. But yeah, very happy to alls.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Do you feel like his best days are still ahead
of him?

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Oh? Sure, he's only just beginning, so hopefully this is
the ship of the iceberg.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Well, all the best this afternoon, JD. I hope it
goes well for you. It's a very exciting data Ellestlye,
not just for the JB key we butt the other
races as well. Appreciate you taking time for a chat
and all the best. Beautiful, thank you, no, thank you
Matte JD. Hayes there one of the three Hayes brothers
that trains evaporate the favorite for this afternoon's en zibb
keiw over fifteen hundred meters for three year old's four

(05:59):
and a half million dollars in prize money that jumps
at around four thirty two this afternoon, part of a
jam packed schedule, a glittering schedule on champions Day at Elleslie.

Speaker 1 (06:10):
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