Racing: Sargent seeks another stable star

Red Ruler wins the Wellington Cup. Photo / Getty Images

Matamata horseman John Sargent was doing his homework when Red Ruler won the Wellington Cup on Saturday.

Sargent is Red Ruler's trainer but he was not on hand to witness the Viking Ruler 5-year-old gelding's comprehensive victory in the group two $250,000 handicap over 2400m at Trentham.

Instead, he spent the day casting his eyes over more than 100 horses at Karaka, the venue for the National Yearling Sales which begin today.

"I'm at the sales trying to buy another Red Ruler," said Sargent yesterday.

He said he had viewed up to about 120 horses on Saturday with the hope of buying a dozen horses at New Zealand's biggest sale of yearlings.

Red Ruler is a prime example of why Sargent was at Karaka. He bought the horse for $60,000 at the 2006 National Yearling Sales.

The price was considered a bargain which Sargent said the vendors blamed in part to him being lot No 2.

"They thought he would make a lot more. But it was early in the sales, it was quiet with not many here. He went quite cheap."

The value has since been proven. Saturday's winning purse of $146,000 took Red Ruler's stake earnings to $1.28 million, with a record of 28 starts for seven wins and six placings.

Three of the wins have come at his past three starts. He went nearly two years without victory but was racing at the highest level, including unplaced runs in two Caulfield Cups and seconds in both the Kelt Capital Stakes at Hastings and the AJC Derby in Sydney in 2008.

Sargent, who was also represented by the unplaced Young Centaur in the cup, said there was no great requirement for him to be at Trentham as both horses were thoroughly seasoned campaigners.

"The job was done. They were there fit and ready to go. I couldn't do anything else. Red Ruler's a weight-for-age horse, not just a handicapper."

Red Ruler holds a nomination for the Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie on March 10 but Sargent is keen to bypass the race in favour of an international weight-for-age group one campaign.

He is looking at the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) in Hong Kong on April 25 followed by the Singapore Cup (2000m) on May 16.

Red Ruler is part-owned by Ron Arculli, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Arculli shares the ownership with Wellington businessman Andrew Meehan and Sargent's brother Guy, chairman of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.

Red Ruler was ridden by Mark Du Plessis who himself returned last year from a stint in Hong Kong to become Sargent's stable jockey.

The former Zimbabwean, who moved to New Zealand some years ago, has been one of the form riders this summer and lies third on the national jockeys' premiership.

Said Sargent of Du Plessis: "He's riding in the zone. He's dedicated, he's fit, he's just a class act."

Du Plessis had the $3.20 favourite handy to the pace throughout and was able to pull out something extra in the run to the post to score by a length.

There was a deadheat for second between Manonamission and outsider Awesome Planet. Manonamission got well back, improved before the turn to hit the lead early in the run home and stuck to his task well.

Awesome Planet was second-last early but got up in behind the winner on the turn and boxed on strongly.

They had the finish to themselves with a gap of 3 lengths to fourth-placed Titsgittin with Bruce Almighty fifth and second favourite Booming sixth.

- NZPA