New Zealand-based syndicators Go Racing are delighted to have two horses entered for the iconic Royal Ascot race meeting in England in June.
Exciting three-year-old colts Up and Under and Etna Rosso, who race in Go Racing’s familiar blue, white and red colours, are entered in the £250,000 Gr.2 King Edward VII Stakes (1m4f) which takes place on the fourth day of the carnival, Friday June 23.
Established by Albert Bosma and Patrick Vinaccia in 2003, Go Racing have enjoyed top level success across Australasia and their recent expansion into Europe is also proving fruitful.
“It’s very exciting to have two horses entered for Royal Ascot,” Go Racing’s Racing Manager Albert Bosma said. “We purchased both horses last year with the goal of getting them into the Derby’s and to Royal Ascot and we couldn’t have got off to a better start, with both horses meeting our expectations.”
Go Racing have previously had success buying tried horses from Europe to race in Australia. However, these two colts are their first purchases under a new model of selecting two-year-old breeze up and trial horses to target classic races in Europe with trainer Joseph O’Brien before travelling to Australia to target Cups races from the stable of leading trainer Chris Waller.
“What we do is analyse the available data to the ‘nth’ degree to find horses that are going to get ten furlongs or further that have group ability,” Bosma said. “We’re very picky, the first year we had a short list of five horses out of 800 and we bought one (Up and Under) then out of probably 300 trial horses we picked out one which was Etna Rosso.
With just two runs under his belt, Up and Under is one of the most exciting young stayers in Europe. He finished third on debut as a two-year-old and then finished a close and unlucky second to White Birch in the Gr.3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes (1m2f) on his seasonal debut. While Etna Rosso booked his ticket to Royal Ascot with a very impressive win on debut at Limerick on April 22.
Both horses have an exciting season ahead. Up and Under is entered in the €1.25 million Gr.1 Irish Derby (1m4f) which takes place at the Curragh on July 2 and the French equivalent the €1.5 million Gr.1 Prix du Jockey Club (2100m) at Chantilly on June 4 and both horses are nominated for the €600,000 Gr.1 Grand Prix de Paris (2400m) in France on July 14.
“Our owners are having an absolute whale of a time with these horses,” Bosma said. “There’s a good Kiwi contingent going up for the Irish Derby and Royal Ascot. It’s a trip of a lifetime to attend these meetings, but to have a runner at them just takes it to another level.”
With the new model off to such a great start, Bosma is looking forward to returning to the well this month.
“We’re heading back up to buy at the Arqana Breeze Up Sale next week,” Bosma said. “Anyone with an ambition to race in the world’s best races at the highest level just needs to get in touch and register their interest before the sale.”
Meanwhile, those syndicate members who are already enjoying the thrill of racing in Europe will be keeping a keen eye on results over the next week.
“Up and Under will run in the Gr.3 Irish Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday and Etna Rosso is likely to race at Roscommon on Monday in an open three-year-old 2400m race,” Bosma said.
