Crocetti’s tune up for Railway

Information provided by Racing and Sports

13/01/2025

Credit: Race Images South

Race day gallop with gear change makes a difference to G1 fancy.

The Railway Stakes is 12 days away but final preparations are well underway as Crocetti took to Ellerslie racecourse on Sunday for an important exhibition gallop.

The well-fancied four-year-old gelding was ridden by South African-born jockey Warren Kennedy with the application of blinkers a key change.

"We put the blinkers on him and it worked a treat," Kennedy told Auckland Thoroughbred Racing on X.

"He has had been finding it too easy in his three-year-old career and he stopped concentrating over the last 200-metres.

"He was on the job from the get-go and he was finding the line. I'm really happy."

A winner of eight races in his 12 starts so far plus two minor placings, the son of British sire Zacinto finished third last start in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes at Ellerslie on December 7. That race was won by expected fellow Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) contender Babylon Berlin.

Crocetti won the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November 2023.

Kennedy, a 8-time Group 1 winner in South Africa, Kennedy moved to New Zealand in 2022 and has since added another six wins at the highest level to his record.

Lugal wins the Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama.

Important Notice:
Information is provided by the third-party provider and it is intended to be used for reference only. The content and information have not been verified or confirmed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its affiliates (together, the “HKJC”), and will not be used for dividend payout purposes. HKJC also do not make any representation or warranty about the timeliness, reliability or accuracy of any such information. The data, articles and other information on these pages are provided on an “as is” basis for information purposes only. None of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, its affiliates or any other person involved in or related to the compilation of such information guarantees its accuracy or reliability and accepts no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any inaccuracies or omissions.

World Pool coming to New Zealand racing in 2025

Information provided by Racing and Sports

16/01/2025

Credit: Race Images South

All eyes in the thoroughbred racing industry will be focused on New Zealand in early 2025 with the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announcing the arrival of World Pool to two New Zealand thoroughbred meetings.

In an unprecedented development for the New Zealand racing industry, the TAB Karaka Millions meeting, featuring the Group 1 Sistema Railway, at Ellerslie in Auckland on January 25 will be the first of the two World Pool meetings.

The second World Pool meeting will take place on the newly created Champions Day on March 8, also at Ellerslie. Champions Day is home to four Group 1 races, including the Trackside New Zealand Derby and Bonecrusher Stakes, as well as the inaugural running of The NZB Kiwi – the richest race for 3-year-olds in the Southern Hemisphere.

The presence of World Pool leads to increased international viewership, as well as providing much larger pools for New Zealand's TAB customers to bet into.

Lachlan Fitt, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Entain Australia and New Zealand, the operators of New Zealand's TAB, said the announcement reflects the progress made in New Zealand racing in the past 18 months.

"World Pool is an exciting opportunity to share the very best of New Zealand racing internationally," Fitt said.

"The benefits of having the thoroughbred racing world firmly focused on New Zealand for these two meetings cannot be underestimated. As well as the advantages that our TAB customers will see, World Pool meetings are a confirmation that New Zealand racing is making its mark on the global stage."

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the hosts of World Pool, was delighted to welcome New Zealand as a World Pool partner.

"New Zealand has a long and rich horseracing history with an outstanding record of producing champion horses, jockeys and trainers on the international stage. Not only is New Zealand a proven nursery in terms of equine and human racing talents, but it also boasts a vibrant and respected domestic racing structure crowned by world-class Group 1 races."

New Zealand-bred equine champions like Sunline, Beauty Generation, Vengeance Of Rain, Aerovelocity, Lucky Sweynesse, and more recently, the exciting Ka Ying Rising, have excelled in Hong Kong, and Kiwis have made their mark in the training and jockey ranks as well.

"New Zealanders James McDonald, Shane Dye, Paul O'Sullivan and Jamie Richards are synonymous with racing excellence and also strongly linked to Hong Kong and it is upon this foundation our World Pool partnership is founded," Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

"New Zealand becomes the ninth racing jurisdiction to have its elite Group 1 races included in the World Pool operation and, from a personal viewpoint, it is wonderful reflect on the close racing ties shared between New Zealand and Hong Kong.

"New Zealand occupies a special place in the international racing ecosystem due to its excellence in breeding and, as a like-minded partner, the New Zealand TAB has been a strong supporter of international commingling, joining the HKJC pools for local races and other international World Pool events since 2019. We very much looked forward to a continuation of this collaboration."

Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Chief Executive Paul Wilcox said: "We can't wait to host these two meetings, and all the attention that World Pool brings. With the addition of World Pool, we'll be building on the hard work that delivered a game-changing TAB Karaka Millions in 2024 and producing a stunning new raceday on Champions Day."

NZ Thoroughbred Racing Chair Russell Warwick said: "To have World Pool operating on not one but two meetings in New Zealand is a great boost for the industry. These meetings were already promising to be world-class affairs, and the arrival of World Pool takes them to another level."

About World Pool:

Powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, World Pool accepts bets from the HKJC's overseas partners. This creates the deepest and most liquid pari-mutuel pools for international top races, including 84 IFHA Top 100 races from the past three years to be part of World Pool during the 2024/25 Hong Kong season. Two of these are from New Zealand.

Since its inception at Royal Ascot in 2019, World Pool has provided tremendous benefits to horse racing around the world by driving global promotion of our sport with a focus on the very best racing has to offer with outstanding horses, jockeys and trainers competing in the world's best races.

World Pool has repeatedly demonstrated the importance of having a strong funding mechanism to sustain global horse racing by providing increased returns to the industry and its participants through its commingling model.

With customers from at least 25 participating countries and regions around the world wagering into a single pool, World Pool creates superior liquidity, better value opportunities, greater certainty of odds and enhanced returns. World Pool is also a key weapon in the fight against illegal gambling operators with its enhanced liquidity and subsequent returns to our sport.

These benefits are passed to the racing industry, allowing authorities to invest in prizemoney and infrastructure, including improvements to equine welfare and racecourse facilities.

World Pool has expanded to meetings in Argentina, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. The vision on expansion is to include as many IFHA Top 100 races in World Pool fixtures as possible.

Find out more about World Pool at worldpool.hkjc.com

Lugal wins the Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama.

Important Notice:
Information is provided by the third-party provider and it is intended to be used for reference only. The content and information have not been verified or confirmed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its affiliates (together, the “HKJC”), and will not be used for dividend payout purposes. HKJC also do not make any representation or warranty about the timeliness, reliability or accuracy of any such information. The data, articles and other information on these pages are provided on an “as is” basis for information purposes only. None of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, its affiliates or any other person involved in or related to the compilation of such information guarantees its accuracy or reliability and accepts no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any inaccuracies or omissions.

Alabama Lass seeking to replicate stable history

Information provided by Racing and Sports

15/01/2025

Alabama Lass will be out to replicate the feats of stable predecessor Bounding when she heads to Ellerslie next week to tackle the $700,000 Group 1 Sistema Railway (1200m).

Credit: Race Images Photo

Bounding took out the 2014 running of the sprint feature after finishing runner-up in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), and it's a sense of déjà vu with Alabama Lass who posted the same result in the Riccarton feature last November.

Trainers Ken and Bev Kelso are hoping that is a good omen for the Railway, which has moved from its traditional New Year's Day slot to the Karaka Millions meeting on January 25, and their mood was further buoyed by Alabama Lass' 4-1/4 length victory in her 1000m trial at Matamata on Tuesday.

"I am really happy with her trial, it was a nice day out," Ken Kelso said.

"She had an exhibition gallop the other day at Te Aroha, and a nice trial today, so I am very happy with the way she is going.

"She was very unlucky in the 1000 Guineas and we have set her for the Railway, and she gets in with 52 kilos. That's the plan at this stage all going well.

"It is very similar to what we did with Bounding, she actually ran second in the 1000 Guineas as well."

Alabama Lass has been a revelation for her Matamata conditioners since winning by 9-1/2 lengths when on debut at her home track last February, going on to win the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) and Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m), with her only two defeats coming at the hands of arch-rival Captured By Love in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders' Stakes (1200m) and 1000 Guineas.

Meanwhile, Kelso was pleased to report that his multiple Group One winner Legarto has returned to work after she strained a muscle following her trial victory at Te Rapa in August, which put an end to a potentially lucrative spring campaign.

"At this stage we are taking one stage at a time, but she is back at the track and back in work," he said. "Everything looks good, so we will box on, but where we end up time will tell. We certainly won't be rushing her."

The Railway Stakes meeting is on the World Pool schedule of feature race cards with participating races on the day announced next week.

Lugal wins the Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama.

Important Notice:
Information is provided by the third-party provider and it is intended to be used for reference only. The content and information have not been verified or confirmed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its affiliates (together, the “HKJC”), and will not be used for dividend payout purposes. HKJC also do not make any representation or warranty about the timeliness, reliability or accuracy of any such information. The data, articles and other information on these pages are provided on an “as is” basis for information purposes only. None of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, its affiliates or any other person involved in or related to the compilation of such information guarantees its accuracy or reliability and accepts no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any inaccuracies or omissions.

Barrier draw suits Babylon Berlin

Information provided by Racing and Sports

23/01/2025

Credit: Race Images Photo

Barrier two a big draw for mare making her mark late.

Babylon Berlin may be a seven-year-old having her seventh attempt at winning at the highest level, but this might be her chance as she takes on the Group 1 Railway Stakes at Ellerslie on Saturday.

Though her best work has been at shorter trips, co-trainers Ben and Ryan Foote have no hesitation in being upbeat about her chances in the 1600-metre event.

The Foote's stable star received a top royal opportunity with the mare set to jump from barrier two.

Babylon Berlin has contested the Railway on three occasions, finishing third behind Entriviere and second to phenomenal sprinter Imperatriz, before an uncharacteristic seventh in last year's running, held away from Ellerslie at Pukekohe.

Babylon Berlin marches towards Saturday after a winning performance in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1200m) and having won two of her last three starts, Ben Foote couldn't be happier with his charge.

"She's flying, everything seems tip-top and drawing barrier two is really good," Ben said.

"She'll definitely push forward, she loves the fight and loves being taken on, so good luck to anything that wants to take her on."

26-time Group 1 winner Vinnie Coghlan retains the ride on the daughter of successful sire and champion three-year-old All Too Hard.

The Railway Stakes is one of three races participating in the World Pool from Ellerslie.

Lugal wins the Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama.

Important Notice:
Information is provided by the third-party provider and it is intended to be used for reference only. The content and information have not been verified or confirmed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its affiliates (together, the “HKJC”), and will not be used for dividend payout purposes. HKJC also do not make any representation or warranty about the timeliness, reliability or accuracy of any such information. The data, articles and other information on these pages are provided on an “as is” basis for information purposes only. None of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, its affiliates or any other person involved in or related to the compilation of such information guarantees its accuracy or reliability and accepts no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any inaccuracies or omissions.