The John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes-trained youngster gave a brief glimpse of his ability in his only previous appearance in the summer and resumed in emphatic fashion with a runaway win Saturday’s Darley 2YO H.
North Pacific had finished third on debut in the G2 Silver Slipper S. behind the subsequent G1 Gold Slipper S. winner Farnan (Not A Single Doubt).
Ridden in his return by Koby Jennings, North Pacific settled behind the leading division near the fence and once angled into the clear he quickly put paid to his rivals, racing clear to score by 2.5l.
“I’ve got to give Koby a good rap there, he got the horse balanced. The heavy track was a little bit of a query and we generally don’t like to start green horses on heavy tracks,” Michael Hawkes said.
“Koby got him into a nice rhythm, he travelled well and popped him off. The last thing I said to him was let him go through his gears and get him to hit the line strongly, and he’s done that.
”I know he got through the ground well, but personally I don’t think he loved it and his ability got him there. He’s got a lot of upside.”
"I know he got through the ground well, but personally I don’t think he loved it and his ability got him there. He’s got a lot of upside." – Michael Hawkes
Prestige 3-year-old races such as the G1 Golden Rose S. are on the spring radar of North Pacific.
“It always has been for this horse, but the most important thing was to win as a 2-year-old and he’s ticked that box,” Hawkes said. “He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with, he’s a lovely colt with a great attitude.
“Orbis has unleased another one and they are putting a lot of money into this industry and they’re reaping the rewards,” Hawkes said.
Koby Jennings
“We’ll just carry on with him, what we do and where we go has yet to be determined. We’ll sit down and have a look and there’s no rush, no doubt there’ll be a few more ticks in the future.”
Stablemate Doubtland (Not A Single Doubt) has won both of his starts this season in the Orbis colours and is another outstanding spring prospect.
Premier purchase
North Pacific was secured for $800,000 out of Bhima Thoroughbreds’ draft at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale and is the first winner for the unraced Up In Lights (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}).
She is out of a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Metal Bender (NZ) (Danasinga) and the family of the Group 1 winner and producer Keeper and the G3 Epona S. winner Missybeel (NZ) (Savabeel).
North Pacific as a yearling
Jennings said North Pacific wasn’t entirely happy in the heavy going and would be much better-suited to drier tracks.
“He gave me a very good feel. It’s always good to come here and ride, especially for the Hawkes stable who have always showed great faith in me,” he said.
“All I had to do was get the job done and come back safely and he’s got the job done. He didn’t really have a blow afterward so it’s onward and upward.
North Pacific wins the Darley 2YO H.
“It felt like if he was on top of the ground he would have stretched away even more. He’s a big, heavy and solid sort of a colt too, so he was probably sinking a bit in that sort of ground. We’ll be seeing better things from him, that’s for sure.”
Sahra (Hinchinbrook) made ground from well back to take second ahead of Shaik (Sebring) and Duchess (More Than Ready {USA}). The well-backed Lady Banff (Top Echelon) sat in second spot to the turn, but then had little to offer and petered out to finish seventh.
