Black-Type Success for Bargain Buy Our Boy Ritchie (NZ)

Riverton trainer Kelvin Tyler paid just $8,000 to buy Our Boy Ritchie (NZ) (He’s Remarkable) at Karaka four years ago, and on Saturday he landed a home-town feature victory in the $50,000 Listed Carriers Arms Hotel Riverton Cup (2147m).

Raced by Kelvin and Vanessa Tyler and trained by Kelvin in partnership with his daughter Aimee, Our Boy Ritchie has now had 28 starts for five wins, two placings and $68,317 in stakes – eight and a half times his purchase price.

Ridden on Saturday by apprentice jockey Savish Khetoo, who was having his first ride in a stakes race, the five-year-old gelding broke well but eased back to sit in seventh place, one off the rail.

He moved further away from the fence and began to creep forward down the back straight, and by the time the field turned for home, Our Boy Ritchie was three-wide and challenging for the lead.

The race developed into an exciting four-way battle to the finish in front of a big Riverton crowd, and the local hope dug deep and outfought his three rivals to prevail by a head.

“We spoke about how he needed to be ridden, and Savish followed his instructions perfectly,” Kelvin Tyler told NZ Racing Desk.

“He’s the sort of horse that you need to put a bit of pressure on, as he is not a sit-and-sprint horse. We wanted to put the pressure on the others a long way out and make it a staying contest, and luckily enough, he was the best stayer on the day.”

Our Boy Ritchie became the first stakes winner for He’s Remarkable (NZ), who himself was a $360,000 yearling purchase at Karaka 2019.

He was a Group One placegetter on both sides of the Tasman, earning more than $600,000 in stakes, and he now stands at Mapperley Stud, where he has sired 35 winners from 89 runners to date.