Germany, France, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Kazakhstan – it reads like the list of competitors in an obscure Olympic event, however, these are the countries involved with Go Racing’s runners this weekend.
“When I started Go Racing 20 years ago, I never thought I would go into a weekend like this,” Go Racing director Albert Bosma said.
“We’ve got a Group One runner by an Australian sire in Germany, a German-bred horse debuting in Ireland, a horse we purchased in England and another we purchased in France, and two NZ-breds running in Australia.
“It’s a sign of the global nature of the sport that we can embrace but it’s also something we’re really proud of. Go Racing has attacked the game globally and to have a weekend like this it’s quite remarkable.”
The New Zealand-based syndicators will look to add a German Oaks to Sentimental Miss’s 2019 Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) when talented filly Je Zous lines up in the €500,000 Gr.1 Preis der Diana (2200m), Germany’s equivalent of The Oaks, at Dusseldorf on Monday morning New Zealand time.
Je Zous is one of five horses that Go Racing have based at the stable of Joseph O’Brien in Ireland.
“We’ve got a lovely team of horses up there,” Go Racing’s General Manager Matt Allnutt said. “We’ve purchased some lovely horses of late and we’ll be buying more later in the year. We’re building up a good team with Joseph and a good profile up there.”
A winner and stakes-performer as a juvenile, Je Zous has finished third in two Group Three events this season and she ran a creditable fifth in the Gr.2 Ribblesdale Stakes (2400m) at Royal Ascot at her last start.
“She’s come through her run at Royal Ascot really well and it was a good strong effort from her on that day,” Allnutt said.
“She’ll give a good account of herself in Germany. She’s a good improving sort of filly, she’s quite tough, she’ll handle the distance and it’s exciting to have her racing up there.
“We did have our doubts about the distance of the Ribblesdale Stakes, but she handled it no problem and showed that she’s right up there with some of the better three-year-old fillies in the UK, and the form coming out of that race is very good.
The subsequent Gr.1 Irish Oaks winner You Got Me, finished fourth in the Ribblesdale and third placed Kalpana has since won the Listed Glasgow Stakes.
O’Brien has been happy with the Irish-bred daughter of Zoustar’s work and he was thrilled to secure the services of Kazakhstani jockey Bauyrzhan Murzabayev.
“She’s had a good preparation since Ascot and the ground is going to be on the easier side which will suit her well,” he said.
“We have Bauyrzhan Murzabayev on board and he’s just about the best rider that you can have onboard in Germany, he’s been champion jockey there a number of times and I was delighted to be able to secure him because he knows that track better than anyone.
“The track appears to suit horses that are ridden prominently, so we’ll look to give her a more positive ride this time and obviously it would be great if she could get a share of the spoils.”
While no Kiwi representatives will be on course to cheer her on, Go Racing will be represented by a key member of their team in UK-based bloodstock agent Stuart Boman and his family in Dusseldorf.
Je Zous is one of two runners Go Racing have in Europe this weekend, with German-bred Nobler set to make his debut in a maiden two-year-old race over 1400m at Galway in Ireland on Saturday morning New Zealand time.
“He’s a horse that we purchased out of the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up sale in May,” Allnutt said. “We paid 120,000gns for him. He’s a really nice horse, his breeze up was good, he fitted all of our criteria and scored very well on the data we use to assess horses.
“He’s done really well in training, and he’s had one trial over 1400m in which he did a really nice job and he’s come through that really well and trained on nicely.
“He’s going to be a horse that will get over ground eventually, but it looks to be a nice starting point for him, and we do expect a nice run.”
It’s a rare weekend where Go Racing don’t have a runner on their home turf of New Zealand but the international story continues in Australia where they have Speycaster, a horse they purchased from England, Up and Under, purchased from France, recent UK Import Tajanis and NZ-breds Lord Ardmore and Wairere Falls running in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
