Horse Racing
Season 2024/2025
2025 Jan
Flying New Zealand filly set for Group 1 success in Railway Stakes

23/01/2025 16:01

Outstanding New Zealand three-year-old filly Alabama Lass is poised to snare her first Group 1 feature in Saturday’s (25 January) NZ$700,000 (approx. HK$3 million) Railway Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie.

With Group 2 and 3 victories among her four wins, the daughter of Australian sire Alabama Express also has two seconds from six races for trainers Ken and Bev Kelso.

She hasn’t raced since finishing a brave second to Captured By Love – who she will again encounter on Saturday – in the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on 16 November.

Unbeaten in all three of her first-up assignments, Alabama Lass will carry the 115lb minimum, just marginally less than the other three-year-old filly in the 11-horse field, Captured By Love, who has been allocated 116Ibs and will be ridden by champion Australian jockey Craig Williams.

Captured By Love has two victories over Alabama Lass, who was a HK$584,000 purchase at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

Ken Kelso is hoping for a repeat of history after his three-year-old Bounding won the 2014 edition of the Railway Stakes after also finishing second in the NZ 1000 Guineas.

“She trialled good the other day and she’ll be going in on the fresh side and will be first-up after finishing second in the 1000 Guineas race,” Kelso said. “I am very happy with her. She is very bright and trialled really good. It’s all systems go.”

Kelso said he soon knew front-running Alabama Lass was way above average when she won her first start by 9.5 lengths as a two-year-old over 1100m at Matamata last February.

After finishing second at her last start on a rain-affected track, Kelso is confident the Group 1 assignment is well within her grasp first-up at 1200m.

In a quality field, Danny Walker and Arron Tata-trained Crocetti resumes after finishing third to Babylon Berlin and Waitak – both will also run on Saturday – in the G3 Concorde Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on 7 December.

Walker said he opted to withdraw Crocetti from the G1 The Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham on 4 January because the track was too wet.

“But it won’t be a problem on Saturday,” he said. “He had a gallop in between races at Ellerslie last week to keep him up to the mark and he has worked really well. He is a lovely horse, a genuine racehorse who tries his best.”

Walker hasn’t underestimated the depth of Saturday’s race and believes New Zealand has its best bunch of sprinters in years.

“There isn’t much between them and it will probably be a bit of luck in the running,” he said. “It will be a very interesting and exciting race.”

Walker said the stable had decided to apply blinkers for the first time which they hope will add to his performance.

Bruce Wallace, who trains in partnership with Grant Cooksley, is confident five-year-old Sacred Satono, who finished second at his last start in the G1 The Telegraph (1200m) earlier this month, is getting better with age.

“He got beaten last time, but I’m happy with him and he is super consistent,” he said. “And I’d like to see him race in Hong Kong.”

Wallace said they had decided this year to keep Sacred Satono fresh and to the sprinting distances and believes he is a Group 1 horse.

Among the many chances are last year’s winner of the race, the Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Waitak, who has been declared fit after an uncharacteristically poor performance at his last start in The Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham.

O’Sullivan said they believe Waitak, who has drawn the outside barrier, will be better suited on the turning Ellerslie track.

“We are happy with him and we certainly wouldn’t be lining him up if we didn’t think he was well,” he said. “We were disappointed with his last performance and he is certainly better than that.”

Blake Shinn flies in from Australia to ride another of the fancies, Luberon.

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