It was a case of mission accomplished for Australian trainer Gavin Bedggood at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.
The Cranbourne horseman had previously competed at the Auckland track as a jumps jockey a decade ago and he eyed a return across the Tasman this week with his well-bred Roaring Lion stallion Kingswood (GB), a multiple stakes-winner in Australia.
With a view towards securing his future stud career, Bedggood was in search of an all-important elite-level victory, and he felt the Gr.1 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2000m) presented as the perfect opportunity.
Prior to the race, Bedggood gave jockey Rory Hutchings instructions to be on pace, however, Kingswood was slow away and Bedggood thought the race was over from the start.
However, Hutchings was able to work his charge off the fence down the back straight, and off a sedate pace he quickly launched Kingswood three-wide to loop the field and serve it up to his rivals.
Hutchings caught his competitors off guard and quickly created a two-length buffer, which he continued to extend. Several of his more favoured rivals rallied late, but Hutchings’ masterful move proved the telling of the race, and Kingswood scored by 1-1/2 lengths over Jaarffi, with a further long neck back to Legarto in third.
Hutchings admitted to being in a spot of bother when their race plan was scuppered at the start, but his improvised plan B more than made up for it.
“We didn’t begin that well,” he said. “It wasn’t in our plan book to be where we were. They just kept getting slower and slower up the hill and I thought we were not going to be able to peg back horses like El Vencedor and Legarto that were a lot closer to the speed running at three-quarter pace mid-stage.
“When I went, I made sure I went really quick. I had a lap full of horse when I did it and I knew I caught them napping. He went from 0 to 100 in one stride and he sustained that all the way to the winning post. That is a trait of a very good horse.”
The victory was a sentimental one for Hutchings, who had won his first elite-level victory in the race 11 years ago aboard the Graeme and Debbie Rogerson-trained Soriano, and fate led to his ride in this year’s edition.
“A couple of weeks ago I didn’t have a ride in this race,” he said. “Through Johny Allen’s suspension I was able to pick up this horse. It’s funny how this game works.”
Bedggood was rapt with Hutchings’ race-winning tactics, with the trainer admitting he had thought it was game over shortly after the start.
“100m after the start I thought we were cast,” he said. “We weren’t where we wanted to be, they didn’t go quick. Watching the race unfold I was working out how I was going to explain this, we were going to look like mugs.
“Fair play to Rory, what a ride. It was a ballsy ride to take off like he did. I just said the horse needed to be in a spot where he needs to build his revs. He is not a sit and sprint horse, and it was well executed.
“He had to do something because where he was, riding for luck wasn’t an option. It wasn’t going to suit the horse the way the race was panning out. Full credit to him, it was the difference between winning and getting beaten.”
The victory also vindicated Bedggood’s decision to campaign in New Zealand, and he said he came under plenty of scrutiny in the lead-up to the race.
“Listening to the radio and watching the TV, there were plenty of knockers,” he said. “I am a realist, he is not top echelon in Melbourne, but he is a bloody good B-grader and I think on his day in Melbourne he would be competitive in an Australian Cup (Gr.1, 2000m). It is good to be vindicated, and it makes the decision worthwhile coming over.”
Kingswood will now remain in New Zealand where Bedggood is keen to tackle further Group One targets, and he is hoping Friday’s performance has grabbed the attention of New Zealand stud masters.
“He can have a week in the paddock and can probably hang around for the Herbie Dyke (Gr.1, 2000m) and Bonecrusher (Gr.1, 2000m) now I think,” he said.
Kingswood is the second Group I winner from the one and only Northern Hemisphere bred crop of foals by 2018 European Horse of the Year Roaring Lion, who died tragically at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand before he could cover a mare in 2019.
That one foal crop have had good success, particularly in Australia as highlighted in this Breednet story written at the end of spring, click here to read.
Kingswood is a European blueblood that made 130,000 euros at the 2021 Goffs Ireland Orby Yearling Sale and was bred by Kirsten Rausing's renowned Lanwades Stud being from the revered family of Albanova and her sister Alborada.
Kingswood is a half-brother to elite stayer Eldar Eldarov, winner of both the Group I Doncaster St Leger and Irish St Leger, being from stakes-winning Sea the Stars mare All at Sea, a half-sister to stakes-winner Alwilda, the dam of Champion Mare and six time G1 winning Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista.
– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
