Listed success for Lincoln’s Kruz

3 minute read

Just days out from the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, Saturday’s opening day of the New Zealand Cup Carnival at Riccarton unearthed another new stakes-winning graduate from the world’s leading sale of two-year-olds.

Lincoln's Kruz (Kuroshio), who was bought from the 2018 Ready to Run Sale, scored a brilliant victory in the $80,000 Listed Donaldson Brown Pegasus Stakes (1000m). His 34-start career has now produced five wins, eight placings and $125,016 in stakes.

A sharp winner of two of his four attempts over 1000 metres, and a four-time victor on good tracks, the six-year-old had failed over 1200 metres on heavy ground at Hastings in early October.

But trainer Lisa Latta was unfazed, quickly changing her focus to Riccarton and an opportunity for Lincoln's Kruz to run on a dry surface and over his favourite sprint distance.

Lincoln's Kruz needed no second invitation, quickening superbly from just behind the leaders and taking command at the 200-metre mark.

Runner-up Rockland (Snitzel) crossed the finish line two lengths behind the explosive winner, with another Karaka graduate in Buoyant (NZ) (Dalghar) three-quarters of a length away in third with an eye-catching late finish.

"He is always a chance second-up with a run under his belt, and I've had a lot of confidence in him since I first rode him as a two-year-old," winning rider Lisa Allpress said.

Latta paid $150,000 to buy Lincoln's Kruz from the 2018 Ready to Run Sale and has also never doubted the gelding's ability.

"He's always had the ability and is a much stronger horse this time," she said. "I ran him at Hastings, where he carried 60 kilograms on a heavy track and he was hopeless in that ground. There were no positives out of that run, but I put that behind us and knew that if we got a good track today, his record over 1000 metres was very good."

Latta is now likely to back Lincoln's Kruz up in next Saturday's $120,000 Group Three Lindauer Stewards' Stakes (1200m).

"Lisa (Allpress) has always had faith in him and we know he can gallop, so he just needs to be in the right headspace," Latta said. "I think this run will do him the world of good, because he was a bit above himself, so we will look to run him again next week."

The 2022 edition of the Ready to Run Sale will be held at Karaka on November 16 and 17, with selling starting at 11am each day.