Gingernuts made his debut on 6 May 2016 in a 1200m
maiden race at
Pukekohe Park, finishing second. He then broke his maiden on 19 May at Hastings over a distance of 1300m. On 18 February, he dramatically stepped up in class for the Group II Avondale Guineas at Ellerslie, going off at odds of 26-to-one. Gingernuts missed the start by six lengths and still appeared to have no chance with 600m remaining. However, he and jockey
Johnathan Parkes found racing room and "sailed through" to win by a length. The win prompted his connections to make a late nomination payment for the New Zealand Derby. Gingernuts was the second favourite for the
2017 New Zealand Derby on 4 March. Ridden by
Opie Bosson, who had previously won several major races aboard
Mongolian Khan, the chestnut gelding surged out of midfield to score a comfortable victory. The win sparked jubilant scenes among the owners, most wearing matching orange caps. "We didn't know where we were before the Avondale Guineas", said Richards. "There's a lot of excited owners here." Two weeks after his Derby win, Gingernuts crossed the Tasman to make his Australian debut in the
Rosehill Guineas at a distance of 2000m. Over extremely heavy going, he settled in mid-pack, then unleashed his run with 800m remaining and struck the lead shortly after turning into the straight. He tired somewhat in the final 100m but was still over three lengths clear of the runner-up, Inference. "He just loves it the further they go and we knew he would handle the conditions," said Richards. "He had his ears pricked all the way up the straight and he was gawking and looking around," noted Bosson. "I was just trying to keep his mind on the job." Two weeks later though, he was caught at the finish line by Wait A Sec in the Livamol
Spring Classic, losing by a head. A CT scan found a fracture of the long pastern bone on his near foreleg. He underwent surgery on 13 November, during which four compression screws were inserted into the leg. A small fragment of bone was also removed from the fetlock joint. The initial prognosis was positive according to David Ellis of Te Akau Racing. "The fracture came together well," he said, "and barring any further complications, the prognosis is that he stands a 50/50 chance for a return to racing." ==Retirement==