Tough mares No Excuse Maggie and Amberio completed an outstanding weekend for Karaka graduates when claiming feature races at Hawera and Matamata.

Along with G1 Toorak Handicap winner Solzhenitsyn (St Petersburg), they were purchased as foals from NZB National Weanling & Broodmare Sale.

No Excuse Maggie (No Excuse Needed) took G3 honours in the Taranaki Breeders Stakes (1400m) at Hawera.  It was a big turnaround in form from the grey mare who had won the LR Matamata Cup this time last year

Trained by John Bary, she came from 10 lengths off the pace at the 600m mark to power away for a near three length victory.  She was a mere $2,500 buy at the 2007 National Weanling Sale.  Bred and sold by Waikato Stud, the mare is raced by the Full of Excuses Syndicate and has won 6 of her 25 starts for almost $170,000.

Further north, the LR Matamata Cup (1600m) saw race favourite Amberio produce a game performance to take her first stakes victory for trainer Karen Zimmerman.

Amberio (Captain Rio) raced wide in transit but was resolute in the straight to deny Atom Cat (Traditionally) by a head.  She went into the race after running second to Dubai Belle (E Dubai) in the G3 Metric Mile.

Amberio has won almost $80,000 in stakes.  She was initially purchased by Michael Otto Bloodstock from Brighthill Farm at the NZB 2008 National Weanling Sale for just $6,000.  She was later bought by Zimmerman from Soliloquy Lodge at the 2009 Karaka Festival Sale for $6,500.