Krakarib will line up in the Group 3 Vain Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday hoping to make a statement off the back of a 26-week spell.
He has been gelded during that time, and top betting sites have him as an $11 chance in the 1100m contest worth $200,000.
The Vain Stakes is the first stop for many three-year-olds heading towards Group 1 features such as the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and VRC Derby (2500m).
For the Simon Zahra-trained runner, it will mark a tilt at a second Group win for a horse that was bought for $30,000 from a farm in rural Victoria by a group of everyday punters.
“He was purchased by a syndicate of our sister company, Donald’s Winners,” said Alex Vinar, co-founder of Donald’s Racing.
“It started with 40 members who chipped in $20 per week and we banked half.
“At the end of the 50 weeks of the punt club, we purchased a few horses – Krakarib was our first punt club horse.
“He identified himself as an early runner – he was the only horse on the farm that we knew we had to have.
“He was our first two-year-old Group winner with the partnership of Donald’s Racing and Simon Zahra.
“He also was Zahra’s first horse registered when he went out as a trainer on his own.”
Mark Zahra is booked for the ride in the Vain Stakes after piloting Krakarib to a win in an 800m jump-out last week.
In that trial, he beat home a line-up that included Group 1 Newmarket Handicap winner Zoutori, the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Faretti, and Makram for the Hayes brothers.
On his career debut last October, he ran sixth in the Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes before a four-week freshen.
He returned in the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate on Melbourne Cup Day, beating home Little Brose by 0.75 lengths as a $26 winner.
Maribyrnong Plate 2023 replay – Krakarib
“The plan for him in his second start on Cup Day from Simon Zahra leading into the race was there from the beginning,” Vinar said.
“If he could roll up front, pinch a few cheap sectionals, we knew Krakarib would still have a fair bit left in the tank when it mattered.
“Damien Thornton (jockey) was instructed by Zahra to put the horse where he is happy and remember that he is a horse that likes to get things over and done with fairly quickly.
“We were confident in that race, and we knew there was so much improvement to come from his debut run.
“The plan was executed and Krakarib got the job done as we expected.”
Runner-up Little Brose has since gone on to take out the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes.
Blue Diamond Stakes 2023 replay – Little Brose
The Per Incanto x Mohegan Sky colt is set to line up in the Vain Stakes as second favourite, paying $3.50 with online bookmakers.
Vinar believes the Hayes-trained colt will be looking for redemption.
“We beat up Little Brose in that Group 3 and we expect him to come out on Saturday wanting to get something back against our guy,” he said.
“I think this is going to be one of the hottest editions of the Vain Stakes ever.
“With the names of the horses in the race, it’s going to be tough, but I think they will definitely feel our presence when Krakarib does his work at Caulfield on Saturday.”
The gelded son of Ribchester has one win from four starts, with $137,525 in prize money banked.
Vinar said that he expects big things from Krakarib as he begins his three-year-old season.
“The sky is the limit for this guy,” he said.
“He is back and is still only a three-year-old, and he has really matured after being gelded.
“We have one of the best horses in the race for Saturday, and we have one of the best jockeys in the land, Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Mark Zahra, so I think we are all very pumped to see what he can do.
“He will go into the race and should roll forward and he is ready to go looking better than ever.”
Vain Stakes betting markets have the James Cummings-trained colt Cylinder as race favourite at $2, with Little Brose ($3.50), I Am Unstoppable ($6), and Scheelite ($8) as the other hopes paying single digits.
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