NZ Racing News

Go Racing finished the 2024-25 racing season with a flurry of winners.

Hours after they sold their star filly Velocious for A$1.625 million, via Inglis Digital’s online auction, they celebrated their first winner at Glorious Goodwood in England as Omni Man won the Coral ‘Pipped At The Post ‘Winners ‘Handicap and then Izola closed out the season with a win at Sale in Australia.

“It was obviously a huge thrill to get a win at the iconic Glorious Goodwood meeting with such an exciting horse and to do it just a few hours after selling Velocious, it was a big night,” Go Racing Director Albert Bosma said.

The night perfectly embodied the season for the New Zealand-based syndication company, which hasleveraged the global nature of thoroughbred racing to produce their highest return to owners in a season yet, of over $10 million.

“This year we’ve spent $2.8 million on yearlings and breeze up horses and we’ve returned well over $10 million to our owners through prize money and sales proceeds this season,” Bosma said.

“That’s a new record for us, breaking last season’s record of a circa $7 million return off a similar spend.”

Bosma credits their global approach and partnership with Blandford Bloodstock’s Stuart Boman for the organisation’s recent boom.

“We put a lot of our success down to the way we have now structured our buying and management.  

“We’ve developed a great partnership with Stuart, and both Go Racing and Blandford Bloodstock put a lot of work into selecting the horses. We have a few debates but the data we use and the way we approach sales has certainly led to our success exploding in the last couple of years.

“Taking the global view has meant that that we’re not just limited to a small pool of stallions in one place. We’re now buying horses from Europe, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

“It just gives us the opportunity to compete in the best races around the world and access the best stallions and gives us the best opportunity to access all the auctions and find value, we’re not just restricted to a small area, that’s been an exciting development.

“We’re also racing horses internationally at some of the world’s biggest race meetings, which creates amazing opportunities for our owners.”

Bosma said that while they would miss last season’s Champion New Zealand Two-Year-Old Velocious on the racetrack, her sale had played out perfectly.

“It was a great result for her owners,” he said. “It was a real win-win situation: we were happy with the price, and I think Yulong, who bought her, were probably happy to be able to secure her at that price too. It’s nice when that result happens.

“It was a great bidding war to watch; it went on and on and on, and it was just as exciting as watching Omni Man’s race.

“We will miss her, but we still have her half-sister Alacritous who we think is very good and selling her at that price did soften the blow.”

The sale of Velocious follows the sale of Go Racing’s three-time Group One-winning mare Atishuwho was also purchased by Yulong at the Magic Millions’ National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast in May for A$2.7 million.

While Atishu and Velocious lit up the sales rings, both physical and virtual, this season Go Racingalso celebrated more than 50 wins on the track. Highlights include Maison Louis’s win in the Gr.1Queensland Derby, Atishu’s Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes win at Flemington during Melbourne Cup week, Group Three success in Australia with Etna Rossa and Je Zous in Ireland, Listed success in New Zealand with Little Black Dress, and Masoun’s win in the Ladies Derby in Ireland.

Omni Man also ran a solid fifth in the King George Stakes at Royal Ascot, and his trainer Joseph O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore both gave a glowing report of him following his impressive win at Goodwood.

“It was a really impressive performance,” he said. “Ryan Moore was really complimentary of the horse, and he won very well, he travelled strongly through the race, and showed a really good turn of foot in the last couple of furlongs, and went through the line really strong. He looks to be a very exciting stayer for the future.”

Bosma was equally rapt with the performance.  

“He was a dominant winner in a very strong race,” he said. “Ryan Moore is one of the world’s top two jockeys, with James McDonald, so to hear his praise of him is very exciting.

“The world is his oyster, and he could go a hell of a long way. The plan is for him to be in Australia at some point, and I think he will give us a chance at some of the very best Group Ones there down the line.”

Meanwhile, in Australia, it was the Chris Waller-trained Izola who took the honour of being Go Racing’s final winner of the season, taking out the Laurels Function Centre Maiden Plate (2238m) at Sale in the hands of jockey Beau Mertens.

“It was a great win,” Mertens said. “She jumped really well, we had a lovely run in transit and she never felt like she was going to get beaten.”

Izola is another winner from 11 horses Go Racing purchased out of the 2023 NZB Book 1 Sale at Karaka in 2023, which also includes Group One winners Maison Louis and Velocious.  

New Zealand-based syndicators Go Racing’s winning roll in Ireland continued over the weekend with two starters for two wins, bringing a total of six wins from their last seven starts there.

Both winners were purchased in partnership with Blandford Bloodstock’s Stuart Boman, trained by Joseph O’Brien, and ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle.

Mojave River was the first to score, the three-year-old filly picked up the second win of her career in the Buy Tickets Online At www.corkracecourse.ie Median Auction Race (1600m) at Cork.

Back in class, having run at Royal Ascot last start, Mojave River jumped well to lead from barrier one, was headed over the final two furlongs, but showed a good turn of foot to regain the lead and win in impressive fashion with a winning margin of half a length.  

“I felt that the further I went the better she was getting,” Browne McMonagle said. “We got it nice and easy in front, and she travelled good and picked up nicely.

“It took a while for her to lengthen but from the furlong pole to the line she was good and tough, and she hit the line well.

“I think she will improve as she goes up in trip and she’ll be suited to a more evenly run race.”

The daughter of Mohaather has been nominated for the Listed Arthur Guinness Irish EBF Corrib Fillies Stakes at Galway on Thursday. A decision is yet to be made as to whether she will back up so soon, however Go Racing’s Albert Bosma confirmed that she will target a stakes race next start.

Mojave River was purchased by Boman and Go Racing out of the Tattersalls Ireland Horses InTraining Sale for €105,000 from the draft of Ardglas Stables.

Go Racing’s Albert Bosma was quick to praise Boman’s proven eye for success, as a key factor in the syndication company’s recent success not only in the northern hemisphere but also the southern hemisphere, describing their partnership as “amazingly successful.”

The next win came in the form of exciting two-year-old filly Alibah, who defeated a full field of 17 towin the Irish EBF Auction Series Fillies Maiden (1400m) at Gowran Park on debut.

The daughter of Galileo Gold jumped well from barrier one, tracking the leading pair throughout before taking the lead inside the final furlong and staying on well to win by three-quarters of a length.

“She did that really good,” Browne McMonagle said. “She put herself in a good position, travelled around good and was always very relaxed.

“The speed wasn’t that quick, so it was a bit of a blast down the straight, but once the penny dropped for her from the furlong home, she was always going to win.

“She was doing her best work at the line, and hopefully she can keep going forward and onwards and upwards.”

Alibah was purchased by Blandford Bloodstock and Go Racing for 42,000 gns from the draft of Hyde Park Stud, at Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up Sale in April.  

Alibah is the latest winner to come out of Go Racing’s global model which involves purchasing two-year-old horses out of the breeze up sales in Europe and the United Kingdom, in partnership with Boman, to initially race in the United Kingdom and Europe before transferring to champion Australian trainer Chris Waller to target the lucrative cups races down under.

Since April Go Racing has celebrated 7 wins and 4 placings in Ireland, with Masoun, Dial Me In, Nobler and Omni Man also successful.

The Go Racing team are now bracing themselves for a run of late nights or early mornings tuning into this week’s ‘Glorious Goodwood’ festival in West Sussex, England, where they have three runners.

Having won his last two races, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Masoun takes his place in the £100,000Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap on Tuesday (12:20am Wednesday NZ Time).

His stablemate Omni Man, who ran a creditable fifth at Royal Ascot last month, runs in the Coral Pipped At The Post Winners Handicap on Wednesday (12:20am Wednesday NZ Time).

Then on Thursday Go Racing’s Brian Meehan-trained two-year-old Eleanor Shelby makes her debut in the Tatler British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes on Thursday (3.55am Friday NZ Time).

To watch the replay of Mojave River’s win click here. 

To watch the replay of Alibah’s win click here. 

Photo: Mojave River post race.