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• July 23, 2024
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Ritchie upbeat about latest European purchase

Paul Vettise, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

23 July 2024

Shaune Ritchie has returned from another overseas buying trip with high hopes his latest acquisition can outdo his first international purchase.

The Cambridge horseman, who trains with Colm Murray, bought Mahrajaan for 75,000gns at the 2022 Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale in England and the son of Kitten’s Joy has proved a staying hit.

With victories in the Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m) and Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m), he is now on a path toward the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).

Ritchie’s latest buy is Davideo who cost 130,000gns at the Tattersalls July Sale and signed for with De Burgh Equine.

“He’s a cracking horse and hopefully he can come back and better what we’ve done with Mahrajaan,” he said.

“He’s got to do two weeks quarantine in England and then he flies to Melbourne and does another two weeks quarantine and he’ll get to New Zealand toward the end of August.

“The climate change won’t be too bad as the summer in England is quite mild at the moment and coming into Melbourne and a New Zealand spring won’t be too much of a temperature change for him.”

Davideo was trained by Ralph Beckett and has been successful up to 2400m.

“He’s by Galileo and a half-brother to two Hong Kong Cup winners (Time Warp, Glorious Forever) so he’s got a great pedigree and he’s a big boy, 17 hands,” Ritchie said.

“His form is almost exactly the same as Mahrajaan, he’s had nine starts for three wins and Mahrajaan had 10 starts for three wins.

“The one thing I will say about this horse is that he’s an on-pacer and he’ll be set for the Auckland Cup next season in the hope he can win that and qualify for the Melbourne Cup.

“When we bought Mahrajaan we knew he had a lot of developing to do and get into a paddock and physically improve.

“This horse is already there, since he’s been gelded he’s won his only start this English racing season so he’s been well looked after so he should be able to come over here and hit the ground running.”

Meanwhile, Ritchie will have a quartet of genuine prospects at Wednesday’s meeting on the all-weather track at Cabridge.

“Eight Lucky Prawns is probably the best, along with Rocket Lad but all of them are going to be strong chances,” he said.

Ritchie’s team has strong synthetic credentials with Marton Collins New Zealand MAAT (1550m) contender Eight Lucky Prawns a last-start winner on the course while Rocket Lad, who runs in the TAB Handicap (1550m) has three synthetic all-weather successes to his credit.

Stablemate Hammer Time is a two-time synthetic winner who was a last-start second and will bid to go one better in the Cambridge Equine Hospital Handicap (1550m).

The fourth member of the team is Martin Collins New Zealand MAAT (2000m) hope Tempest Moon, who has placed on the track in each of previous two appearances.