Group winners across hemispheres providing Go Racing with 'best of both worlds'

A small project by Go Racing to place horses in Ireland before transferring them for southern hemisphere campaigns has made significant headway within a couple of years as the New Zealand-based syndicate already boasts viable contenders on either side of the planet.

One of a pioneering intake of two-year-olds in 2022, Etna Rosso is saddling up on the road for the Melbourne Cup after claiming a first stakes winner for his sire Decorated Knight in the Group 3 Newcastle Gold Cup last Friday, while the year-younger Je Zous struck in the same grade a day later at Gowran Park with a game defeat of One Look in the Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies & Mares Stakes.

"We started a programme of buying horses in Europe a couple of years ago," explains Albert Bosma, Go Racing’s joint founder.

"We work closely with Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock and we came up with the idea of a dual-hemisphere approach. 

"Initially they go to Joseph O’Brien and he trains them for their two- and three-year-old season, hopefully getting them to Royal Ascot or another decent carnival and then they come down to Chris Waller in Australia."

Go Racing’s members, who are mostly based in Australasia, have certainly had their high-end experiences.

"We've bought only a couple each year so we can’t complain," says Bosma. "Etna Rosso ran fifth in the Queen’s Vase and is actually third favourite for the Group 1 Metropolitan next weekend; he’d probably get to make the Melbourne Cup field if he won, and Up And Under was fifth in the Irish Derby. 

"Then the second year we’ve had Je Zous as well as Soul Of Spain, who probably won’t be a Group horse but might win a few."

Etna Rosso could be on the Melbourne Cup trail after his good start in AustraliaCredit: Patrick McCann

Bosma and Pat Vinaccia established Go Racing in 2003 from Auckland and it has grown to the extent of having more than 80 horses on the books, split between Australia and New Zealand, with most having around a dozen people involved.

Bosma outlined the reasons for international expansion.

"Racing has become global and I think it’s increasingly a destination and entertainment product, as well as a product of trying to win prize-money, but nobody gets into owning a racehorse purely to win prize-money; if you did, you’d never invest," he says.

"Royal Ascot is the greatest racing carnival on the planet. The idea is you’ve got two of the best trainers in the world, people can travel to Europe and enjoy it, then come down to Australia and run for the enormous prize-money that they have, so you get the best of both worlds.

"So if you get a horse like Etna Rosso, who's going to run at Royal Ascot and the Melbourne Cup carnival, that’s on most people’s racing bucket list!"

Interestingly, the team decided to focus mostly on the breeze-ups from the outset, even if they were not looking for the archetypal individuals from that sector. 

Je Zous was a €110,000 purchase from Arqana last year and was second in the Listed Montrose Stakes at Newmarket, while Mohaather filly Mojave River, who cost €105,000 at Tattersalls Ireland this May, was already Arqana-qualified and landed a six-figure sales race on her debut at Deauville.

Auckland-based Bosma says: "For Australia you need horses who can run ten furlongs and further, or at least eight. There's no doubt that the European-bred horses are the best stayers in the world, challenged only by the Japanese, I’d say.

"Australia breeds very good sprinters, and a lot of them. You’ve then got the chance to take on the weaker staying ranks that they have.

"From the breeze-ups, they’re going to be more ready to go so you have the opportunity to get two-year-old runs out of them, but we do a hell of a lot of assessment on them, biometrics and geometrics.

"Those fast horses that people are trying to buy for Royal Ascot as two-year-olds can make silly money, and maybe there’s a little bit more opportunity and value in that middle-distance and staying area."

Matt Allnutt, Pat Vinaccia and Albert Bosma from Go Racing

Je Zous, who was not disgraced in the Ribblesdale or the German Oaks, could have one more exotic assignment before she heads onto the plane.

"She keeps getting better and being by Zoustar, they love them in Australia and her pedigree would work there too," says Bosma.

"She’s very exciting to head down there. She’s a Group 3 winner now, we’re looking at the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio in Italy. It’s over ten furlongs and probably suits on-pace horses. At this stage we’re thinking run there, then travel to Australia after that."

Even though a trip from so far afield takes quite a bit of time and planning, Bosma says about a dozen owners have made it to Royal Ascot each time and others were at the Irish Derby.

It is less likely that any will be available enough to be on track for a little midweek maiden at Naas, and he singles out O’Brien’s communication skills in sending regular videos and updates from deepest Kilkenny to a widespread group of eager recipients.

"The bulk are in New Zealand, a fair few Australians, a couple of American people and a small number in England and Ireland," he says. 

"That’s something we’ve discussed trying to expand. We think that this could appeal, the whole dual-hemisphere nature of it. Now we’ve got the formula, we’ll try to see if we can develop it a bit further."

Restocking has begun already, with a first dip into the yearling market, picking up an Awtaad colt from a top-class German family for €42,000 from Kildaragh Stud at this week’s Tattersalls Ireland September Sale.

Bosma, who splits up sales and racing duties with Vinaccia and members from Go Racing's management team such as Matt Allnutt, anticipates monitoring the other European yearling sales and then returning with increased purpose at next year’s breeze-ups.

The action continues at the Curragh on Sunday, with Mojave River going in the Weld Park Stakes and Kodiac colt Hibernate making his debut in the opening maiden. There is plenty to watch on the home front too, with big targets for syndicate star Atishu, the Group 1-winning daughter of Savabeel who is still shining aged seven.

"She won the Mackinnon Stakes and would be one of our headline horses along with Etna Rosso," says Bosma.

"She’s had a couple of warm-up runs, it was a wet track last start, and she should be very competitive in the Turnbull Stakes. We had a New Zealand champion two-year-old last year called Velocious; unfortunately she’s just gone for a wind operation, but we’ve got a number of promising horses for the spring and we’re well set up for the carnivals, which is quite exciting."

Just at a time when a dreary autumn dampens the mood over here, a feeling of optimism has returned down under. It seems as if the guys at Go Racing have the right idea.

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