12 March 2026
Loyal Ralph standing by his man in stakes test
Stephen Ralph is more than happy to stick with a winning combination in his pursuit of a maiden stakes victory on Saturday for the in-form Leroy Brown (NZ) (Ace High).
The Te Awamutu trainer has rewarded apprentice Jack Taplin for his performance aboard the five-year-old last time out with the ride on the freegoer in the Gr.2 Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga.
They combined to run their rivals ragged in an open handicap over a mile and Ralph will be hoping for more of the same from the duo at the weekend.
“I said to Jack at Matamata that you should be able to lead and it was a 10 out of 10 ride, it was absolutely perfect,” Ralph said.
“We like to form a relationship between the horse and the jockey and try and stick with it.”
Leroy Brown also has an impressive record at Tauranga where the son of Ace High has three wins and two placings to his credit with his only failure a midfield finish in the Japan Trophy 12 months ago.
“Last year, he just took off and hopefully this time he doesn’t grab the bit and charge off,” Ralph said.
“In the past, he has done too much in the run, but mentally he is getting a lot better.”
While Leroy Brown’s outside gate (15) is a concern, he does possess enough gate speed to cross the field to land his favoured frontrunning role.
“We’ve got a bit of a problem with the barrier draw, but if it does get a bit wetter then he may not have to spend as much petrol to get to the lead,” Ralph said.
“Anything from a Good4 to a Soft7 is in his range, but when it gets up to a 10 his racing manners aren’t conducive to a result.
“You can’t go flat out in Red Band gumboots and think you’re going to win.”
Should the gelding run up to expectations at Tauranga, a trip south for the Listed Bramco Granite & Marble Flying Handicap (1400m) is on the radar.
“He might go down to Trentham, we think it’s a track that suits him and he was only 1.3 lengths off the winner (Quintessa (NZ) (Shamus Award)) there in the Group One (Levin Classic, 1600m) as a three-year-old,” Ralph said.
Ralph will also be represented in the Snow Williams Bayleys Country Handicap (2100m) at Tauranga by Perfectmanz (NZ) (Almanzor), a past course and distance winner who didn’t find the Ellerslie track to his liking last time out.
“I really like him, he’s got the ability but doesn’t really know it,” Ralph said.
“He’s got a high cruising speed and hopefully he doesn’t get boxed in on a slow pace. That will be up to Jack to work out and with a bit of luck, I think he’s a strong chance.” - Paul Vettise
Giacomo goes back-to-back in South Waikato Cup
Peter and Shaun McKay were contemplating the racing future of seven-year-old gelding Giacomo (NZ) (Puccini), but he proved he is still up to the task when defending his crown in the Holster Engineering Lally & Symes South Waikato Cup (2000m) at Matamata on Wednesday.
The son of Puccini took up his typical front-running role, but he wasn’t given it all his own way, with My Maebelline Girl (NZ) (Shamoline Warrior) serving it up to him down the back straight and wrestling away the lead. That placed Giacomo in the uncustomary position of having something to chase, but chase he did and he recaptured the lead from the 400m and saw off the late challenge of Te Akau pair Crown Princess (NZ) (Embellish) and Altari (NZ) (Savabeel) to win by three-quarters of a length.
“It was really good,” Peter McKay said.
“He likes to dictate in front and he didn’t get it all his own way. Yesterday he did do it a little bit differently where he has led for a bit and then taken a sit when My Maebelline Girl went around him and then he has got going again before the corner, which he likes to do.
“We were thinking it might be his last season of racing but he has now put his hand up again.
“He always seems to come right at this time of the year so hopefully he can pick off another one before he goes out at the end of the season.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, the McKay’s will cross the Kaimai Range with just the one runner on Saturday, with Just Call Me Jonny (NZ) (Eminent) to contest the Snow Williams Bayleys Country 2100 at Tauranga.
“He has come through his last start win well and he went home to Milan Park for a week and piled on good condition, which was good,” McKay said.
“We decided we would go straight into a 2100m rather than last time where we sent him home for a 10-day spell and he went a mile and then 2100m. I just think he is more of a stayer now.
“Things are looking good for Saturday, I just hope the rain stays away.”
While the stable is light on numbers this weekend, they will have more representation a week later when they trek south to Trentham.
“Both of my stayers, Wolfgang (NZ) (Puccini) and Santa Catalina (NZ) (Puccini), are going to the same race, the St Leger,” McKay said. “I would like to split them but it is a 2500m race, which seems to suit them both. It will be nice to see them competing against each other and hopefully they are fighting out the finish.”
Meanwhile, McKay has welcomed Group Three winner Spencer (NZ) (Derryn) back to the barn.
The six-year-old son of Derryn has been spelling since his unplaced runs in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) and Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) at Trentham in January, and McKay is looking forward to racing him over winter.
“He has come back and has put a lot of weight on in the time he was out,” McKay said. “He can pick away over winter, he seems to go alright on a wetter track.
“We will look at some of those set weights and penalties or weight-for-age races at the end of the season and start of next season. He is capable of plenty more yet.” -Joshua Smith
NZ Racing Desk
Joshua Smith
LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
Joshua Smith
