Superb Ho Ho Khan (NZ) Heads Hobart Cup Quinella

Karaka graduates played a starring role in Sunday’s A$250,000 Group Three Ladbrokes Hobart Cup (2400m), headed by a powerful four-length romp by former Hong Kong star Ho Ho Khan (NZ) (Makfi).

Passed in at the 2016 Ready to Run Sale with a reserve of $65,000, Ho Ho Khan has now won seven races and more than A$1.6 million in his 33-start career, which has featured victories in three different countries.

A maiden winner in New Zealand in 2017, he went on to become a quality performer in Hong Kong, where his four wins included the Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2400m). He also finished fourth in the Group One Hong Kong Vase (2400m).

Ho Ho Khan announced his arrival in Australia with a bold win at Caulfield on January 8, and Sunday’s Hobart Cup was even better.

Ridden by Tahlia Hope under a 59-kilogram topweight, the seven-year-old settled in the second half of the field before launching a sustained and unstoppable charge. He surged into contention at the turn and careered away down the straight, scoring a resounding victory.

“He is a really good horse, and we were rapt with how the track presented, with a good bit of give in it on a warm day,” trainer Mitchell Freedman said. “He hadn’t had a run for a bit, but he worked that well on Tuesday at Ballarat that we had to bring him.

“He has done well since being down here. Tahlia came down earlier in the week to do a bit of work on him. She is doing a bit of work for us and rode the horse perfectly there. 

“This race has been on the radar for a while. We mapped out a bit of a plan, but because he likes some give in the track, we had to make a few different plans.”

Runner-up In A Twinkling (Fastnet Rock) is also a Karaka graduate – bought for $250,000 by David Ellis at the 2017 Premier Sale. The well-performed gelding has had 34 starts for four wins, nine placings and more than A$580,000 in stakes.

Ho Ho Khan’s half-sister by Tarzino (NZ) will be offered at Karaka 2022. Part of the Book 1 draft of Westbury Stud, the filly will go through the ring as Lot 166.