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New Zealand campaign paves the way to Aussie gold
Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • October 19th, 2026 4:21 pm
Kingswood winning the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) last Saturday | Photo: George Sal (Racing Photos)
Gavin Bedggood has been one of the few Australian trainers to campaign in New Zealand over the past year, and he has been richly rewarded, with his grey entire Kingswood scoring elite-level success on both sides of the Tasman, highlighted by his heroics in Saturday’s Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).
The son of Roaring Lion raced in New Zealand over summer last season, winning the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day before finishing runner-up to Legarto in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa, and returned to Ellerslie on Champions Day where he ran fifth in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m).
While he landed his first elite-level success during his New Zealand campaign, Bedggood said the trip also set him up for a faultless spring preparation this season, which netted a first-up victory in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m), followed by fourth placings in both the Gr.1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) and Gr.1 Might And Power (2000m), and ultimately victory in the Caufield Cup.
“We were able to give him a really good break after New Zealand, which worked well for him,” Bedggood said. “He raced really well over there and was getting tracks with the right amount of give in them which allowed us to have a faultless preparation with him this time in.
“We had picked out a path to get there (Caulfield Cup), that was our grand final, and I thought his two runs at weight-for-age leading into last Saturday were great. I went to the Might And Power thinking that if he could get beaten two to three lengths that he was on track, and he was beaten 1-3/4 lengths.
“The final piece of the puzzle was going to be the barrier draw and when he drew 20 I thought our hopes were dashed a bit, but Johnny (Allen) executed the ride well from an awkward alley and the rest is history.
“I thought he was able to put his hand up in a Group One in Australia, so it is good to be vindicated.”
It was a red-letter day for Bedggood, whose recent stable acquisition Tempesti was runner-up in the Gr.3 St Leger Stakes (2600m) at Randwick on Everest Day, while stable stalwart Just Folk later ran a gallant third in the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1609m).
“They both ran fantastic,” Bedggood said.
The Cranbourne trainer had contemplated a New Zealand hit-and-run mission with Just Folk for last month’s Gr.1 Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) at Hastings, but the dry weather forecast curtailed those plans.
“I would have come over for that race (Howden Insurance Mile), but I was looking at the forecast and I was worried the track might be a bit too firm for him (Just Folk),” Bedggood said. “As it eventuated, it was a (Soft)5 on the day and for him to be competitive in that sort of race he needs to be on a Soft7 or worse.
“He is a stable favourite, has been going around forever, he is 10 years old and running third in a Group One. He has exceeded all expectations.”
Bedggood remains a keen follower of New Zealand racing and said campaigns on this side of the Tasman could be on the cards for Tempesti and a couple of other stable runners.
“Tempesti was eight weeks between runs and having his first start for us,” he said. “He will improve nicely off the run and he might be the perfect horse to come over for an Auckland Cup (Gr.2, 3200m) next year.
“There are a couple of others there that have been racing well like St Lawrence and Wymark. They might be horses that can come over there and bob up in a certain race.”
New Zealand-bred geldings St Lawrence and Wymark are both last start stakes winners, with the former taking out the Listed Murray Bridge Gold Cup (1600m) and the latter winning the Listed Seymour Cup (1600m).
Kingswood is not the only Australian-trained horse to achieve elite-level success in his homeland following a successful New Zealand campaign this year, with the Cindy Alderson-trained Jigsaw taking out the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) at Ellerslie on Champions Day in March before extending his winning sequence to eight with victories in the Gr.1 William Reid Stakes (1200m), A$5 million The Quokka (1200m), and this month’s Gr.2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m).
Auckland Thoroughbred Racing’s chief executive Paul Wilcox has been buoyed by Kingswood and Jigsaw’s continued success in Australia, and he is hopeful more Australian trainers will take Bedggood and Alderson’s lead and campaign their horses in New Zealand over the summer carnival period.
“It’s not only Kingswood but Jigsaw as well. He came over and picked up his big win and then went back, and we all know what he has gone on to do,” Wilcox said.
“Gavin Bedggood was getting grief that he came over here with a B-grader just to pick up a Group One win, and to go back and pick up a race that is as highly regarded as the Caulfield Cup is outstanding.
“With the surface that we have got (at Ellerslie), it gives every horse a chance. There’s nothing like building confidence in a horse and we have seen that with Kingswood going on to pick up the Caulfield Cup.”
Wilcox said there are plenty of big carrots to be chasing at Ellerslie, particularly over the Christmas-New Year Carnival, which fits nicely into the Australian racing calendar.
“Over that Christmas period in particular there is not much going on in Australia, so it does lend itself for some of those horses to come over,” he said. “We are never going to get the super-duper Group One horses, and we realise that, but it is about making sure that what we do get over here can try and help get our ratings up. If it means we get a full field then great because that adds more to the public and punters to bet on, which is good for the industry.”
Wilcox said he and his team will be canvassing Australia over the coming months to try and coax more Australian trainers to Ellerslie’s feature meetings, and he will be aided by former Trackside senior producer Shane Cuthbert, who has recently been appointed as the club’s Executive General Manager of Racing and Operations.
“He is a champion bloke and when you look at what he did in Australia before he got into producing, he was a handicapper with Racing New South Wales and the ATC,” Wilcox said. “His father has been in the game, so he grew up in the industry, and Warwick Farm was his play area. He will be a great addition to the team.”
In recent years, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing has also offered a financial incentive to Australian trainers to campaign in New Zealand. Last season they provided a $10,000 travel subsidy if an Australian-trained horse started in a Group, Special Conditions or Restricted Listed race over the carnival period, and NZTR General Manager of Racing Mitch Lamb said they are close to announcing this season’s incentive.
“We’re close to releasing details of a travel subsidy for Australian-trained horses for our upcoming carnival period and we’re confident Australian trainers will see it as an attractive proposition as we build on the success of last season,” he said.
