3 minute read

Elite New Zealand galloper Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls) has returned to his brilliant best in Melbourne, snapping a long win drought with victory in Saturday’s A$200,000 Group Three Moonga Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

Aegon was bought for $150,000 by his trainer Andrew Forsman from Book 1 of Karaka 2019. He has now won six of his 14 starts and more than $1m in stakes. His win on Saturday completed a Group Three double at Caulfield for Forsman and his Karaka graduates, with three-year-old Mr Maestro (NZ) (Savabeel) capturing the Caulfield Classic (2000m) earlier in the afternoon.

Aegon himself burst to prominence as a three-year-old two seasons ago, winning all of his first five starts including the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), Group Two Hawke's Bay Guineas (1400m), $1m Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m), and the Group Two Hobartville Stakes (1400m) in Sydney.

His form faded away with just one fourth placing from eight starts between March 2021 and last month, but Saturday's Moonga Stakes was a very different story.

The Kiwi star had to work hard for it, with jockey Blake Shinn forced to take an inside run in the worst part of the Caulfield track as he made his run out of midfield. But Aegon's quality shone through, edging out Bandersnatch (Casino Prince) by a nose.

"That was the cards we were dealt, and it was always going to be tricky," Shinn said. "Obviously it wasn't easy with the ground, but staying to the inside saved a few lengths, and the horse was brave. He's a quality horse on his day, and it's nice to see him return to his best today."

Forsman also shares ownership of Aegon with the Zame family, who previously teamed up with the Cambridge stable and shared multiple black-type successes with Jon Snow (NZ) (Iffraaj).

"He didn't quite get the right run – I'm sure Blake would have liked to get to the outside," Forsman said. "He had to chop and change ground and get down to the inferior ground on the inside, but he was good enough and I think he deserved it today.

"He has just been a very immature horse. Whatever he did as a three-year-old was all on ability, and we just had to give him a little bit of time. Now he has come back to it, and hopefully he can go on.

"I am just rapt to get this one out of the way and see him back to his best form. We brought him over here just because of lack of options at home – it's hard for a smallish horse to carry big weights.

"The set weights and penalties of the race today suited, and mentally he seems a happy horse that is in the zone."