Buoyed by a successful raid on New Zealand feature racing last year, Ben Hayes is plotting to do the same as Arkansaw Kid takes on the Railway Stakes at Ellerslie on Saturday.
The 1200-mere Group 1 event is the beginning of a two start trans-Tasman campaign for the five-year-old along the lines of when the Hayes team were successful with Here To Shock in the Group 1 BDC Group Sprint (1400m) in February 2024.
That win has given the stable the confidence to go again.
“He left after his trial last week and we are really happy with him,” Ben said.
“It is full steam ahead.”
The son of Irish sire Harry Angel won a jump out at Flemington over 800m on January 9 after finishing third in the AU$1 million The Supernova (1400m) at Pakenham on December 13.
That even has since delivered two winners and one placegetter among the six starters since.
“We had success last year and Arkansaw Kid, I think he is a very good group two horse in Australia who is competitive in group ones but always finds one better,” Hayes added.
“We thought it is a great opportunity to try and win a group one with him.
“With the set weights and penalties conditions, he gets in there quite nicely in the weights.
“He will then go on to the same race that Here To Shock won, then maybe the Canterbury Stakes in Sydney after that.”
Arkansaw Kid finished second in The Meteorite (1200m) at Cranbourne on November 22 to the Cindy Alderson-trained Jigsaw who is also set to start in the Railway Stakes.
