Options aplenty following Tytate's win at Alexandra Park

By Michael Guerin

Tytate didn’t just win the biggest race of her career at Alexandra Park on Friday night.

She opened up a whole new range of possibilities.

The Matty White-trained and driven mare overpowered her rivals late in the $35,000 Powell Transport North Island Breeders Stakes to cap a strong start to 2026.

She has raced well against some of our best mares and has now won seven races, all of them recorded in just 10 months after leaving maidens last July.

And that sequence comes after taking 10 starts to leave maidens.

Friday night’s race was her first from a standing start, with Tytate having only qualified from a stand in a recent trial where she was allowed to step safely and then be pulled up.

“She has done a really good job,” says White.

“And now we know she can handle standing starts it opens up a few more options for her too.

“She has kept on getting better and some of her runs against the better mares have been really strong.”

It was a night dominated by the girls at The Park with Walkinonsunshine winning the Primor Produce North Island Mares Trot Championships in the hands of Joshua Dickie.

She gained a huge advantage over fellow backmarker and favourite Ya Rite Darl with a great beginning but looked like she could be in trouble as Jasinova was in front and rolling, threatening to leave Walkinonsunshine parked.

But Jasinova galloped at the 1600m which left Walkinonsunhine to roll to the front and she never looked like being headed.

She has gone to a new level this season by being competitive in races like the Rowe Cup and still only being a six-year-old she will have plenty of options should her connections decide to race on for another season.

Earlier in the night exciting trotter Our Col reminded us of what she could be when she bolted away with the Woodlands Stud North Island Trotting Oaks.

Having been given an easy few weeks by Tony Herlihy to get over poor blood reports, she looked back to something like her best and was quick off the gate, wresting the lead early from Petite Amour.

She was never headed and her winning time would have been a national 2200m mobile record for a three-year-old filly had she not lowered in so much last month. 

Our Col has come a very long way this autumn and she clearly has an open class motor and stride so it will be fascinating to see how far she can go as Herlihy has such a wonderful record getting the best out of trotting fillies and mares.

He looks to have a genuine talent to work with in the daughter of Father Patrick.

Two of the other trotting winners on the night came from the Wallis/Hackett stable (surprise, surprise) with Confessional trotting a quick 3:25.4 for the 2700m stand to win the opener while Manchester’s Moment has the gate speed and manners to win her Balle Brothers Metro Trot heat.