Zabeel Classic to be Kingswood’s stallion-making race

Cranbourne trainer Gavin Bedggood will spend Christmas in New Zealand as he prepares his Group 3 winner Kingswood for Group 1 action at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

With a view towards Kingswood’s prospective stallion career, Bedggood is heading across the Tasman in the hope of securing an all-important elite-level scalp to enhance his credentials prior to transitioning to stud duties.

The European-bred six-year-old hails from a rich pedigree, being by the late stallion Roaring Lion and out of multiple stakes winner All At Sea, a daughter of three-time Group 1 winner Albanova.

Kingswood is also the half-brother to dual Group 1 winner and champion European three-year-old stayer of his year Eldar Eldarov.

“He is a stallion and he has got a great pedigree,” Bedggood said. “He is probably not commercial in Australia but if he were able to win a couple of good races over in New Zealand, he might be able to find a future home over there when he is finished.”

Bedggood will meet Kingswood at Auckland airport on Sunday and he will base himself at Pukekohe in the lead-up to the Group 1 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2000m) on Boxing Day.

Kingswood resumed with a runner-up effort behind subsequent Group 1 performer Golden Path over 1700m at Flemington in September, and he returned to the iconic track on Melbourne Cup Day to win the Listed Kirin Ichiban Plate (1800m). He then ran fourth in the Listed Ballarat Cup.