Soul of Spain the latest Irish winner for Go Racing
Progressive stayer Soul of Spain was a dominant winner of the staying race (3299m) at Thurles in Ireland last night for New Zealand-based syndicators Go Racing.
The Joseph O’Brien trained three-year-old, was given a positive ride by jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle. The pair sat outside the leader from the jump and put pressure on stablemate (and $1.50 favourite, Double Agent) from the 600m mark kicking away for a three and a quarter-length win on the line.
“He did that well,” Browne McMonagle said. “He jumped good I just sat outside Wayne (Lordan, rider of Double Agent) most of the way and just got him comfortable.
“Wayne started to push the pace a little from half way and that helped to push my fella along.
When I got up beside him at the turn he picked up good and went on about his business, the last furlong he was an easy winner and he stretched out good to the line.”
Soul of Spain went into the race with form ranging from 1800m to 2800m and Browne McMonagle commented that he had benefited from the rise in distance on Thursday. A sign that pleased Go Racing Director Albert Bosma.
“He saw out the 3299 metres easily, which is something we wanted to see ahead of his trip to Australia,” he said.
It is yet to be decided if Soul of Spain will have another run in the United Kingdom before he is exported to Australia to join the stable of Champion Trainer Chris Waller.
“I am excited to get him to Australia and have Chris put a bit of speed in his legs as I think he’s a very progressive stayer,” Bosma said.
“He is booked to go into quarantine on October 28 and I will chat with Joseph about whether we give him another run beforehand.”
A son of Phoenix of Spain, Out of Spain was purchased by the formidable partnership of Go Racing and Blandford Bloodstock’s Stuart Boman for €160,000 out of the 2023 Arqana Breeze Up Sale.
Go Racing continue to grow their presence in the United Kingdom with five runners currently in O’Brien’s stable. They also have runners with multiple trainers in Australia and New Zealand.
“We’re giving our owners the best of both hemispheres,” Bosma said. “They have the chance to race horses in Europe targeting the best races there and then we bring them down to Australia where they race for huge prizemoney.”
Je Zous, a recent Group Three winner in Ireland and Etna Rosso, a recent Group Three winner in Australia have highlighted the success of Go Racing’s global model.
Go Racing will again be teaming up with Boman to purchase horses out of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale later this month with the horses heading straight to Waller in Australia in December.
“They’re usually racing by March,” Bosma said. “We target them at Saturday races where prizemoney is a minimum of NZ$175,000 in Sydney on a Saturday and then Group and Cups racing.”
Anyone interested taking shares in these horses should contact Albert on 0508 GORACING (0508 467224) or email albert@goracing.co.nz.
Photo: Healy Racing