AUSTRALIA’S hopes of a rare New Zealand Cup win have soared with a second raider confirmed.
Multiple Group 1 winner Majestic Cruiser, already a feature race winner in NZ, is booked a flight from Sydney to Auckland on October 31.
He will join last Saturday’s dominant Group 1 Victoria Cup winner Rock N Roll Doo, who landed in Auckland today.
Majestic Cruiser’s NSW-based trainer Jason Grimson confirmed the NZ trip after his stable star handled a standing-start trial well at Menangle yesterday.
The NZ Cup is a gruelling 3200m race run from a standing-start at Addington Raceway in Christchurch on November 8. It’s the biggest race of any code in NZ.
The Victorian-trained My Lightning Blue won the Cup in 1987 and the only Aussie-trained horse to win it since was Kerryn Manning’s Arden Rooney in 2015.
“We’re going. He stepped away well in the trial and he seems great,” Grimson said of Majestic Cruiser.
“He’ll race next Saturday night at Menangle and then again in the (Group 1) Len Smith Mile the week after and there’s a flight from Sydney to Auckland two days after that.
“The real bonus is that he can then get a charter flight with some thoroughbreds from Auckland down to Christchurch instead of having to go down by road and boat.
“He’s an experienced traveller now. He’ll take that in his stride.”
Grimson has been itching to return to NZ since he upstaged the country’s best pacers to win the Group 1 Messenger in Auckland in April.
Majestic Cruiser has since beaten Australia’s best pacers in the Group 1 Blacks A Fake at his latest run on July 23.
Rock N Roll Doo was flown across from Melbourne to Auckland early this morning with the Kiwi-trained defending NZ Cup winner Copy That.
Trainer-driver Mick Stanley said the four-year-old, who is a $4 second favourite for the Cup, handled the trip well.
“It’s great to get across early so we can have a lead-up race and get some practice from the standing-start under race conditions over here,” he said.
· Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
