Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Raymond Connors’ green and red colours will forever be known for six victories in the Great Northern Steeplechase (6400m) at Ellerslie between 1998 and 2019, but the respected Manawatu horseman returned to Auckland on Saturday and took the spoils in another major test of stamina.
Connors won the Great Northern as an owner and jockey on Our Jonty (1998) before adding owner-trainer successes with Hypnotize (2007, 2008, 2009) and Wise Men Say (2017, 2019). Now those trophies sit alongside a major prize on the flat, courtesy of a $17 upset by Trav (Almanzor) in the Gr.2 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m).
“The Great Northerns are probably still my biggest thrill, but this has to be right up there as well,” Connors said on Saturday. “It’s awesome to win a big race on a day like this. Champions Day is great to be a part of.”
Trav won three races as a four-year-old last season, prompting Connors to put a circle around the Auckland Cup as his main goal for 2024-25. The Almanzor gelding went winless in his seven starts leading into the $600,000 showpiece, but caught the eye with a strong-finishing and unlucky fourth in the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) in his most recent start on January 18.
Trav and jockey Masa Hashizume dropped out to the tail of the field in a moderately run Auckland Cup that saw multiple lead changes during the race. They still had only three horses behind them as they angled to the extreme outside coming around the home turn.
Arby and Nest Egg kicked off the corner and briefly looked set to fight out the finish, but then Hashizume let Trav rip down the outside of the track. He powered past that pair and then turned back a late challenge from the Chris Waller-trained Tajanis to win by a long head. Another Australian raider, Ciaron Maher’s Interpretation, finished two and three-quarter lengths further back in third.
The Auckland Cup was a special consolation prize for Hashizume, who was the long-time rider of Gr.1 Trackside New Zealand Derby (2400m) favourite Willydoit but was replaced after his unplaced finish in last month’s Gr.2 Avondale Guineas (2100m).
“This means a lot,” Hashizume said. “The last few weeks have just been one of those things. I’ve had to come back from an injury where I had six weeks off. Willydoit is such a nice horse. I understand the owners making the change and I wish them the best of luck. I’ll just have to hope I can come back next year with another Derby favourite.
“Trav is a very tough horse, going from the Wellington Cup to the Auckland Cup with only a jumpout in between. He was a bit fresh going to the start, but very professional after the gates opened.
“I wasn’t very confident when I was last in the first lap, so I tried to move a little bit closer and then decided to follow Blue Sky At Night. She’s a tough mare, so I knew she would drag me into it.
“I wasn’t sure who was coming through beside me, but I knew my horse was trying his best. He gave me 100 percent all the way to the line and then was hard to pull up after the race. It was such a good effort. Credit to the horse and the trainer. I was just lucky today.”
Trav has now had 25 starts for six wins, a second and $462,950 in stakes.
“That was a really good performance,” Connors said. “I wasn’t surprised to see him get so far back in the running, because that’s the way he races. But the finish that he produced to get up and win the race was amazing.
“He hasn’t been the easiest horse to train, it’s been a bit of an effort from everyone at home, but this race was our goal and it’s great to pull it off.”
