NEWS
Tavistock upsets New Zealand Horse of the Year Mufhasa
Posted: Saturday, August 29, 2009 4:41 PM
by Mike Curry
Tavistock surged into contention with a sweeping bid leaving the turn and battled gamely in the stretch to outfinish race favorite and reigning New Zealand Horse of the Year Mufhasa by a neck in the Mudgway Partsworld Stakes (NZ-G1) on Saturday at Hastings.
Trained by Andrew Campbell, Tavistock completed 1,400 meters (6.96 furlongs) under Jason Waddell in 1:22.09 on turf rated as good.
Sent off at 40-to-1 odds, Tavistock was able to avoid a spill on the turn that occurred when Fritzy Boy clipped heels with Maximum Star, unseating the latter’s jockey, Darryl Bradley. Altered Image was unable to avoid the incident and unseated jockey Michael Coleman. The spill also proved costly to Prince Kaapstad, who was carried out by a loose horse entering the stretch.
Maximum Star came out of the race with a fractured bone in his left front leg, www.thoroughbrednews.co.nz reported. Both Bradley and Coleman were badly bruised but appeared to escape serious injury.
Tavistock returned from a layoff of more than 7 1/2 months with a third-place finish behind Fritzy Boy and Maximum Star in a 1,200-meter (5.97-furlong race) at Foxton on August 7. He used that race as a springboard to his first stakes win.
Tavistock, who raced in Australia as Lord Tavistock, is out of the Quest for Fame (GB) mare Upstage.
Mufhasa, a two-time Group 1 winner last season, finished a length clear of third-place finisher Sterling Prince.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
