Horse racing: Five races in New Zealand not to miss this weekend

Champion jockey Opie Bosson is hoping for a smooth and fast ride in Melbourne tonight - and not just aboard Imperatriz in the A$750,000 Moir Stakes.

Bosson will head to The Valley for one ride in the Group 1 dash, for which Imperatriz is odds-on after smashing the track record over the same 1000m distance last start.

Bosson was supposed to also partner Imperatriz’s stablemate Zourion in the last race but had to relinquish that engagement as he faces a crazy schedule to get back from Melbourne to also ride at Hastings tomorrow.

His Melbourne-Auckland flight is scheduled for 11.20pm, which is just two hours after Imperatriz hits the like, hopefully victorious, in the Moir.

He will then have to change, jump in a waiting car to the airport for his carry-on luggage-only flight to Auckland (checked in online) and try and grab some sleep overnight before landing in Auckland at 6am.

“Then I have a flight to Hasting at 8.10am and once I get there I will go straight to a sauna around the road from the track for a sweat before the races,” he told the Herald.

One saving grace, apart from the fact almost all planes leave late these days, is Bosson hasn’t taken many rides at Hastings so his first is hot favourite Tokyo Tycoon in the Hawkes Bay Guineas at 2.48pm.

“It is going to be busy but it is worth it to ride horses like this,” says Bosson.

“She [Imperatriz] is one of my favourites and we all saw how great she went last start.

“I am happy with the draw [5] because I didn’t want an inside barrier where she can get locked away but 1000m is short enough for her second up.

“Still she is in great form so I can’t wait to get on her again.”

Bosson is almost as enthused about Tokyo Tycoon as he has thrived since his first-up win at Hastings three weeks ago, a race Bosson didn’t go into full of confidence after some muddling trials efforts.

“He has really come on with that win and he felt great last time I worked him, a really happy horse.”

Bosson will partner with proven weight-for-age mare Campionessa in the Group 1 Arrowfield Stud Stakes tomorrow and has also been impressed with her improvement since her first-up run.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see her finish in the top four or five, maybe even better if a few of the favourites don’t start if the track is heavy.”

Races not to miss

1: Arrowfield Plate, Hastings at 4.01pm Saturday: Could have seven Group 1 winners clashing. Or not, depending on the track. The movable feast of the racing weekend.

2: Moir Stakes, The Valley at 12.15am Saturday (NZ time): Kiwi mare Imperatriz could do something stunning again. Problem is if she does you might struggle to get to sleep straight after.

3: Canterbury Classic, Addington at 8.17pm Friday: Huge lead-up race for NZ Trotting Cup headlined by two Auckland Cup winners in Self Assured and Akuta. A proper field of pacers.

4: St John’s College Foundation, Te Rapa at 12.23pm Friday: Crocetti (1) is unbeaten and very, very good. Well worth a lunchtime look.

5: Hawkes Bay Guineas, Hastings at 2.48pm Saturday: Tokyo Tycoon is a little star and only good horses win the HB Guineas.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.