Swettenham Stud

The search for the Group 1 win that has eluded Kaphero moves to Randwick on Saturday in the Group 1 Galaxy Handicap (1100m).

The horse will be ridden just a touch more conservatively than in the past in an effort to overcome the weight disadvantage he will be facing yet again.

It has been proved that the horse is incredibly highly regarded in the Australian Sprinting ranks.

Kaphero was allotted 1kg under the top weights in the Oakleigh Plate (Scenic Blast and Typhoon Zed). Incredibly he was weighted above two other Group 1 winners in the Oakleigh Plate and a bevy of Group 2 winners; although he is in essence a very good Group 3 winner of 10 metropolitan sprint races.

The Galaxy sees him harshly treated again. Kaphero will carry 1kg less than topweight Swiss Ace who has two Group 1 performances of significant note in his last two races the Oakleigh Plate and the Newmarket Handicap. Obviously Kaphero’s sheer speed that attracted Swettenham Stud to buy the horse initially has been highly regarded by the two major handicappers in Melbourne and Sydney. This single ingredient is essential for success at stud and the Group 1 tag may be of no consequence (in effect only ensuring he could stand for a higher fee if successful on Saturday).

Kaphero is second up after a great first up run in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at WFA. Kaphero ran a scintillating fourth in the race where they nearly broke Zephyr Bay’s record that has stood since 1975 (hand timed). Kaphero will strip a very fit horse for his second up start this preparation. He has only ever won first up as a 2YO.

Kaphero has been a wonderful racehorse. He boasts a scintillating 55.82 sec for 1000m at Sandown as a 2YO (track record 55.64). He has carried 61.5kgs to victory on dead ground at Moonee Valley in 58.05secs for the 1000m just a tick outside Miss Andretti’s track record of 57.22 sec. In fact his average time for his 9 wins over 1000m is 58.2 secs and they include two at Sandown, one at Flemington and six at Moonee Valley carrying an average of over 58kgs across all three tracks.

From the Group 1 winner Kapchat - Kaphero was an outstanding individual as a yearling and sold accordingly. He is still one of the highest priced Danzero colts ever at sale. He has the family to succeed at stud. Kapchat is a half-sister to Hunza the dam of Golden Slipper winner Courtza, herself the dam of NZ Stud sensation O’Reilly. Recently, Kaphero’s 4YO half-sister Hidden Energy by Dehere ran second in the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes. Together with two three quarter sisters in blood to Kaphero in Princesa and Wasimah it should ensure the family will stay in the news for many seasons to come, until the Kaphero’s start burning up the racetracks.