THE brilliant win by Tasmanian-bred three-year-old Mongolian Khan in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie on Saturday added another string to the tiny state’s bow in terms of its depth of staying talent.
After locally bred stayers dominated the Group 3 Hobart and Launceston cups filling the first three placings in each (Geegees Blackflash, Genuine Lad and Banca Mo), this three-year-old bred at Grenville Stud at Whitemore (near Launceston) by Graeme McCulloch continued the dominance at the elite level.
Mongolian Khan is trained by Murray Baker who is no stranger to preparing Group 1 three-year-old winners of staying events with his other victories including two Australian Derbies, a VRC Derby and a Wellington Derby.
It was a sensational win with the McCulloch-bred gelding matching strides with the race favourite Volkstok’n’barrell all the way up the home straight with Mongolian Khan edging clear at the business end of the race.
McCulloch attended the race meeting at the invitation of the gelding’s owners and he was ecstatic when contacted today by tasracing.com.au.
Listen to what Graeme McCulloch had to say to Peter Staples about Mongolian Khan’s NZ Derby win.
Photograph by Trish Dunell.