Fiumicino (NZ) Breaks $3 million in Stakes

It’s been a long time since his last race victory – almost three years – but the nine-year-old Fiumicino (NZ) showed that he has lost none of his fighting spirit with a game win in the A$100,000 Listed Frank Underwood Cup (2200m) at Warwick Farm.

A horse that has won two of Australia’s premier Group 1 races, the Group 1 Australian Derby and Group 1 BMW Stakes, Fiumicino (Zabeel x Latte) was brought back into training in February this year after having his last race in the Melbourne Cup in 2009.

Fiumicino wins the 2007 Group 1 Australian Derby

Trained by Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes, the son of Zabeel had shown that he still had that zest for racing with stakes placings in the Listed Sky High Stakes in March and Listed Bendigo Cup at his last start.

Saturday’s race saw jockey Nash Rawiller take Fiumicino straight to the lead and he shot away at the top of the straight and held off his rivals to the post, running a sharp final 600 metres in 35.04 in hot conditions in Sydney, to win by three-quarters-of-a-length.

Co-trainer Michael Hawkes commented that Fiumicino had been a grand horse for the stable and outlined plans for the son of Zabeel with the Listed Christmas Cup (2400m) at Rosehill on December 15 and the Group 3 Summer Cup (2400m) on Boxing Day on the same course as his likely targets.

Bred by Hawke’s Bay breeder Graham De Gruchy with Sir Patrick & Lady Hogan, Fiumicino was offered by Cambridge Stud at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2005 Karaka Premier Sale and was purchased by his owner Nick Moraitis for $425,000.

Saturday’s Listed Frank Underwood Cup win was Fiumicino’s sixth win – his fourth at stakes level – from just 39 career starts and has taken his stakes earnings to over A$3 million.