With his eighth Group One assignment just around the corner, El Vencedor will head to Ellerslie on Saturday for a final tune-up in the Listed Fulton Family Stakes (1500m).
El Vencedor has competed at Group One level in seven of his last nine starts, starting with a second in the Thorndon Mile (1600m) in January of last year. He went on to run fourth in the Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m), then ran his rivals into the ground to score a superb front-running upset win in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) in March.
The son of Shocking was unplaced in his first three starts at the elite level this season, in the Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m), Livamol Classic (2040m) and Mufhasa Classic (1600m), but turned that form around with an outstanding last-start third behind Snazzytavi and La Crique in the Zabeel Classic (2000m) on Boxing Day.
“He ran a huge race in the Zabeel and it took a couple of top-class mares to beat him that day,” trainer Stephen Marsh said.
El Vencedor’s next target is the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa on February 8. Marsh kept him up to the mark with a six-length trial win at Matamata on January 14, and the six-year-old gelding will cap his preparation in Saturday’s $100,000 feature at Ellerslie. His three previous starts at the Auckland track have produced wins in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes and Group 3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m), along with that last-start Zabeel Classic placing.
“We’ve been very happy with the horse since Boxing Day,” Marsh said. “He was great in that trial. We’re mainly treating this race as a pipe-opener for the Herbie Dyke. But even though it’s a step down in distance and he’s got a big weight (61kg), he’s in such good order and goes so well at Ellerslie that I wouldn’t be surprised if he was very competitive.”
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