Cranbourne trainer Gavin Bedggood pulled off a successful New Zealand raid last season with Kingswood, and now he is eyeing further Group One spoils on this side of the Tasman with another stable runner.
The now seven-year-old Kingswood had three starts in New Zealand last term, and began his campaign in winning fashion when taking out the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day under a masterful ride by expat New Zealand jockey Rory Hutchings, before finishing runner-up to Legarto in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa in February, and fifth to the Ken and Bev Kelso-trained mare in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on Champions Day in March.
Buoyed by that success, Bedggood has continued to keep a close eye on New Zealand racing and identified the Gr.1 Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) at Hastings on September 26 as a good option for another of his stable representatives – Just Folk.
“I have always kept an eye on the racing over there and I started to follow it a little bit,” Bedggood said. “I looked at your programme and I saw that race over a mile, and there are limited options for that horse in Victoria, so you start to search near and far to see what your options are and try to follow the weather a bit with him. When I saw that race, I thought it was tailor-made.”
While Just Folk is now a 10-year-old, the son of Magnus continues to belie his age, having placed in his last three outings, including the Listed Winter Championship Series Final (1600m) at Flemington and Listed Winter Challenge (1500m) at Rosehill, both last month.
Just Folk has established a solid record over six years of racing, winning 10 of his 54 starts, including six at stakes level, and he has earned more than A$1.7 million in prizemoney.
“He has been a great money-spinner, and I think he has won about six stakes races. He is obviously in the twilight of his career, but providing he gets the right surface, he is never far away,” Bedggood said.
Track conditions are what led Bedggood to put in a nomination for the Howden Insurance Mile, with his gelding needing the more forgiving ground a New Zealand spring can provide, and if that looks the case next month, Bedggood said he will be eager to cross the Tasman with Just Folk.
“You would think our weather in Melbourne over the next few weeks is going to start improving, and he needs Heavy ground to be at his best, and those tracks are going to become few and far between over the coming months in Melbourne,” he said.
“It will all gauge around the weather. If he was getting Heavy ground, I would say he is a pretty good chance to come over.”
Just Folk is set to head to Caulfield on Saturday for the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m), which would likely be his last start before heading to New Zealand.
“Providing it is not too firm, he is a chance of running at Caulfield on Saturday in the Heatherlie over 1700m,” Bedggood said. “He will probably have the one run and then freshen-up for that race (Howden Insurance Mile).”
Just Folk will likely be met on Saturday by his stablemate Kingswood, and Bedggood has been pleased with the way the grey entire is coming up, having placed in a 1000m trial behind Sheza Alibi at Pakenham a fortnight ago.
“He is going really well, and he kicks off on Saturday,” Bedggood said. “I think he is going every bit as well, if not a little bit better, than what he was last campaign. I am excited to see him resume on the weekend.”
Bedggood hasn’t ruled out a return to New Zealand shores for the son of Roaring Lion.
“If he was going to be a rung below our top-tier races here in Victoria over the spring, it would be a definite consideration to back off a little bit and make the trip over again,” he said.
Just Folk is currently a $10 sixth favourite in the TAB’s futures market for the Howden Insurance Mile, which is led by Well Written at $3. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
