Bedggood chases more NZ success, this time with Just Folk

Cranbourne trainer Gavin Bedggood pulled off a successful New Zealand raid last season with Kingswood, and now he is eyeing further Group 1 spoils on this side of the Tasman with another stable runner.

The now seven-year-old Kingswood had three starts in New Zealand last term, and began his campaign in winning fashion when taking out the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day under a masterful ride by expat New Zealand jockey Rory Hutchings, before finishing runner-up to Legarto in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa in February, and fifth to the Ken and Bev Kelso-trained mare in the Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on Champions Day in March.

Buoyed by that success, Bedggood has continued to keep a close eye on New Zealand racing and identified the Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) at Hastings on September 26 as a good option for another of his stable representatives – Just Folk.

“I have always kept an eye on the racing over there and I started to follow it a little bit,” Bedggood said.

“I looked at your programme and I saw that race over a mile, and there are limited options for that horse in Victoria, so you start to search near and far to see what your options are and try to follow the weather a bit with him. When I saw that race, I thought it was tailor-made.”

While Just Folk is now a 10-year-old, the son of Magnus continues to belie his age, having placed in his last three outings, including the Listed Winter Championship Series Final (1600m) at Flemington and Listed Winter Challenge (1500m) at Rosehill, both last month.