Chief Stipe Posted October 14 Share Posted October 14 NZ raid for Uncommon James? www.racing.com Group 1-winning Australian sprinter Uncommon James could be in line for a trip across the Tasman to contest the G1 Telegraph (1200m) and G1 Sistema Railway (1200m) in January. Uncommon James is the winner of six of his 16 starts and more than $1.4 million in prizemoney, headed by a brilliant victory over Lofty Strike and Asfoora in the G1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) in Melbourne in February of last year. Eagle Farm-based trainer Matt Hoysted considered a trans-Tasman raid earlier in the Cable Bay gelding's decorated career and the recent increase in prizemoney for New Zealand's summer sprint features, along with the NZ$1 million in bonuses associated with the brand-new Sport Nation Champion Sprint Series, have made it an even more compelling option in 2024-25. The Telegraph will be run for a stake of NZ$550,000 at Trentham on January 4, with the Railway shifting from New Year's Day to the Karaka Millions meeting on January 25 and now boasting NZ$700,000 in prizemoney. "Taking him across to New Zealand is actually an idea that I've had in the back of my mind for quite a lot of his career," Hoysted said. "I was strongly considering it in the prep before he won the Oakleigh Plate. "At that stage, I was sort of thinking about all the options we had available to try to give him a chance at that Group 1 level. It didn't work out back then and he went on to win the Oakleigh after that. But it might be more of an option this time around. "Coming into the twilight of his career now, it might be a nice way to allow him to continue to race and be competitive at that sort of level. "That new bonus series in New Zealand makes it a more attractive option as well. I train a few horses for Ladbrokes here in Australia and they've been telling me about some of the exciting new initiatives that Entain has introduced in New Zealand. It's definitely given us something to think about." Age 6YO Sex Gelding Colour Bay Prize Money $1,432,350 Last 5 3-587 Career 16-6-4-2 7 – 10 E FM 1 JUN 2024 1300m $31.00 8 – 9 E FM 4 MAY 2024 1200m $3.80 5 – 14 RHIL 23 MAR 2024 1100m $9.00 3 – 6 M V 28 OCT 2023 1200m $10.00 2 – 8 CAUL 14 OCT 2023 1100m $2.40 Uncommon James was last seen on a racetrack in June, finishing seventh behind I Wish I Win in the G1 Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm. The six-year-old's New Zealand mission will depend on a pair of Queensland sprinting assignments in November. "He's currently building towards his first jumpout here on Tuesday and then he'll have another jumpout a fortnight after that," Hoysted said. "The plan at this stage is to run him in the Swiss Ace (1000m) and the George Moore Stakes (1200m). We want to make sure that he's come up well and is going well enough in this preparation. "If he puts in a couple of good performances and shows us that his heart is still in it, we'll be pretty keen to take him over to New Zealand." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Agent Posted October 19 Share Posted October 19 In the twilight of his career? 6 years old with 16 runs under his belt, and 6 wins. What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted October 19 Author Share Posted October 19 40 minutes ago, Special Agent said: In the twilight of his career? 6 years old with 16 runs under his belt, and 6 wins. What? 16 runs in OZ at the top level are worth about 32 in NZ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freda Posted October 19 Share Posted October 19 9 hours ago, Special Agent said: In the twilight of his career? 6 years old with 16 runs under his belt, and 6 wins. What? Yeah....I was scratching my head when I read that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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