Second chance for Solid Gold in Oaks
Kiwi filly Solid Gold (NZ) (Savabeel) will be on the quick back-up when she takes her place in Saturday’s Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) following her fifth placing in last weekend’s Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m).
The Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained daughter of Savabeel was sent forward from a wide barrier in the Derby and was a touch plain when beaten just over five lengths behind Providence after being sent out a well-supported $4.40 favourite.
“I was initially disappointed, but then when I watched the replay on a number of occasions, she did work for a long way, probably the best part of 600m before she got to her position,” James said.
“In the commentary they were saying they were going past the 1800m and she’d only just got to where you’d want to be.
“There were a few that went around them and she never really got a chance to actually relax because the pace was so torrid, and then she was popped out about the half mile.
“I'm not criticising the ride at all, the draw is what I think cost us dearly.
“Tommy (Berry, jockey) said he thought he had a lot of horse at the 400m but she felt weak the last 150m, but I think when you analyse it, she did do a lot of work early, for a long way.”
Berry will stick with Solid Gold, who has drawn barrier four on Saturday but has three emergencies drawn inside her, meaning the filly could potentially start from barrier one.
“I'd rather be drawn one than 18,” James said.
“It was not her normal pattern to be going forward as much as she did last week, but the alternative when you draw that wide is you go right back, because you're never going to get in.
“Can you win it from last? Questionable. We made a decision and it didn't work. We made a similar decision with Pinarello a few years back and it did work.”
The reduced distance of the Oaks a week after the Derby is a somewhat curious piece of programming but James will take confidence from Solid Gold’s strong victory in the Gr.3 Championship Stakes (2100m) at Ellerslie prior to her trip to Queensland.
Equally it is not the first time James has had a runner contest both the Derby and the Oaks in Queensland, albeit the Classics were previously held in inverse order and both over 2400m.
“Absolutely, I believe they’re the wrong way around, but that’s not my decision,” James said.
“I remember many years ago having a filly called Melora over here and she ran third in the Oaks and I backed her up a week later and she ran second in the Derby.
“This filly is a big scopey filly but I am pleased with the way she came through her Derby effort.”
While Solid Gold will have two bites of the cherry, stablemate Sweynesday will return to New Zealand despite being beaten less than four lengths in the Gr.3 BRC Sprint (1350m).
“We looked at all options and to be fair he drew wide in both of his runs and carried 59kgs on both occasions,” James said.
“He came out of his last run just a little bit scratchy and even though he's probably pretty right now, it's necessitated a few days off and I just think it's not the right prep to be pressing on.”
Meanwhile James and Wellwood will have a small but select team at Ellerslie on Saturday, with talented fillies Arwen and Cosmic Dream to go head to head over 1400m and Hasstorock stepping out over 1500m.
“They're all form fillies but I think if you look at Cosmic Dream's two runs this prep, they've been enormous from wide, wide draws,” James said.
“I'd go slightly her way, but Arwen's done nothing wrong in her whole career and she's a good filly in the making. There's not a lot between them.
“Hasstorock is a little wee girl that needs the greater distance and needs luck, but she’s as honest as they come.” - NZ Racing Desk
Ka Ying Rising puts his Kiwi breeders on the map
The phenomenal Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress) has been the horse of a lifetime for everyone associated with him, including his New Zealand breeders, Fraser and Erin Auret.
Under their Grandmoral Lodge banner, the Aurets bred Ka Ying Rising as the first foal out of their Per Incanto mare Missy Moo.
Missy Moo was bought for just $500 as a yearling at Karaka in 2014, and Fraser Auret trained her to win five races and finish fourth in the Gr.3 Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2000m). She also contested a Wellington Cup over two miles – a world away from the scintillating sprints her son is famous for.
The Aurets selected Windsor Park stallion Shamexpress for Missy Moo’s first mating, and the resulting foal showed early promise at the jumpouts before being sold to Hong Kong-based Australian trainer David Hayes in a deal brokered by Mike Marais.
The rest is history, and even after 20 consecutive victories, millions of dollars in prize-money and numerous track records, Fraser Auret is still in disbelief about the career trajectory of the horse his children had nicknamed Rocket.
“Even after he’s put this many of them in a row, each one of his performances continues to amaze,” he said. “He’s just a well-oiled machine.
“He’s taken us on a wonderful journey, whether it’s being on course for his Hong Kong Sprint victory, or the gatherings that we have here at home when we watch his races. It’s always a great occasion, and one of my favourite things about it is how excited the kids get, having known him since he was a foal.”
Auret has often been asked if he has any regrets around selling the horse that has gone on to become the highest-rated racehorse in the world, but that is the reality of the business he operates. He notes that having Ka Ying Rising fly the Grandmoral Lodge flag on the Hong Kong and world stage has brought some significant benefits.
“We’ve definitely seen some great flow-on effects on that side of things,” he said. “As a seller, you have to be selling your good horses if you want to have repeat business, and he’s certainly opened up a few doors for us and particularly with that Hong Kong market.”
Auret also operates a public training stable at Marton, in New Zealand’s lower North Island, and boasts a career total of 384 wins. He has had another successful season in 2025-26 with 20 victories, headed by Khanshe in the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m) and Gr.3 Phar Lap Trophy (1600m). The daughter of Mongolian Khan also finished fourth in the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m).
“I’ve been pretty happy with the season that we’ve had,” Auret said. “We probably don’t quite have the number of horses that we may have had a few seasons ago, but we’ve had some solid results headed by horses like Khanshe.
“We’ve got a very nice group of young horses that we’re bringing through at the moment as well. So, while there won’t be much happening over the next couple of months, I think we’ve got a bit to look forward to in the spring, which is always a good way to be in this game.” - NZ Racing Desk
Tough barrier for Single Red in competitive Oaks
Weather, weight and poor barriers pose a challenge for Andrew Forsman as the Cambridge horseman readies for a busy trans-Tasman weekend.
Forsman has been campaigning his promising filly Single Red (NZ) (Vanbrugh) in Queensland over the past month, and having proven herself up to the mark against the three-year-old fillies, runs in Saturday’s Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2200m).
Once favourite for the A$700,000 feature, Single Red is still rated among the chances after finishing second in the Listed Gold Coast Bracelet (1800m) and fourth in the Gr.2 The Roses (2000m), the latter won by the Oaks’ second-elect Fireball Miss.
Forsman had been hopeful of a good barrier draw after a wide alley was costly in The Roses, but the lack of good fortune continues with barrier 21 against her name including emergencies.
“We would have loved a good draw, that’s probably what cost her in her first couple of runs over there – just being left exposed without cover and electing to go forward, which hasn’t worked out both times,” Forsman said. “She was left a bit of a sitting shot turning for home.
“I guess from the wide draw we will try to snag her back for a bit of cover and hope the race is run genuinely so she gets her chance.
“She hasn’t been beaten far, she’s been right there and while last start was disappointing, she wasn’t far away. If she does get some luck in the Oaks, she’s going to be competitive again.”
Back in New Zealand, Forsman has a trio of runners pencilled in for Te Aroha’s rescheduled meeting on Thursday including six-win sprinter Force Of Nature.
Whether the classy gelding takes his place Waihou Tavern (1100m) is yet to be determined, with the heavier track conditions posing a concern.
“We are a little bit nervous about the track,” Forsman said.
“He found the track a little too firm at Te Rapa last start so we had been looking forward to Monday before the rain had really hit, where he could still get that bit of give in the track without it being too testing.
“I guess we will have to make that call in the morning, whether we run tomorrow or wait for the Open 1200 at Te Rapa next week.”
In-form gelding Pacifico will aim for three on the bounce at Ellerslie on Saturday, albeit with a hefty weight to carry in the Yourride 2100.
A breakthrough stakes victory in the Listed Rotorua Cup (2200m) followed by a gritty win last start has his rating up to 97, and the Ardrossan gelding will carry 61.5kg this weekend with Opie Bosson in the saddle.
“He’s going really well, I can’t fault him and his work has been good,” Forsman said.
“As he keeps winning, he keeps getting more weight, which will catch up with him at some point you’d think. But while he’s racing in good form, we’ll keep him going and see how we get on.
“You’ve got to weigh up taking two or three kilos off or going with an experienced rider, which has worked for him in his last couple of starts.
“We have that option up our sleeve next time around perhaps, if he doesn’t quite love the weight on Saturday, we may be looking for a good three or four-kilo claimer.”
Younger stablemate Accentuate is shooting for a deserved winning result in the Elsdon Park 1400 after going down late to Bulgari at the venue last time out.
“I think the best is yet to be seen of her, she’ll be a good four-year-old mare as she matures and she’s still got a lot of strengthening up to do,” Forsman said.
“She’s got good ability and it would be nice to get another win with her this preparation. I think she had her chance last start, she was just beaten by a horse with a better turn of foot who had good form around it.
“Hopefully she can go one better on Saturday, it’s a competitive race and a bigger field than we were expecting so if she can’t get the win, we may go for one more and look to send her out on a winning note.” - Jess de Lautour, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
NZ Racing Desk
Paul Vettise
