Tempest Moon (NZ) Seals Jericho Cup Golden Ticket

Saturday’s $50,000 NZB Airfreight Road to Jericho (3000m) at Riccarton has put The Oaks Stud and Cambridge trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray on target for a familiar Australian mission.

The Rating 82 event was the second of two qualifying races run in New Zealand every spring for the A$300,000 Jericho Cup (4600m), which will be held at Warrnambool on November 30. The first Kiwi qualifier took place at New Plymouth last month and was won by Yolo (NZ) (Zed).

The winner of each of those qualifying races is granted a ballot-free entry into the Jericho Cup, along with a $5,000 equine airfreight credit from sponsors NZB Airfreight if they travel to Australia to contest the race.

However, Saturday’s race at Riccarton was won by Te Akau Racing’s Irish-bred import I’m A Dirty Rascal (Galileo). Under the conditions of the Jericho Cup, which is restricted to horses bred in Australia and New Zealand, he is ineligible. The automatic Jericho Cup entry and NZB Airfreight credit instead goes to Saturday’s gallant runner-up Tempest Moon (NZ) (Turn Me Loose).

Tempest Moon and I’m A Dirty Rascal fought a stirring battle down the Riccarton straight on Saturday, with I’m A Dirty Rascal – who is now the favourite for next month’s Group Three New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton – scoring a narrow victory by a neck.

Tempest Moon now has the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Nassak Diamond (NZ) (Roc De Cambes), another mare bred and raced by The Oaks Stud and trained by Ritchie and Murray. She won New Plymouth’s Road to the Jericho in September of 2023 and went on to score a memorable win in the Jericho Cup three months later – the first victory in the race for a New Zealand-trained horse.

Ritchie would love to attempt a repeat of that result in 2025.

“Rick Williams (The Oaks Stud general manager) and I don’t mind going to Warrnambool,” Ritchie told the Love Racing News Desk. “We have had a great time with Where Are You (NZ) (Ekraar) when she was 100-to-one and ran third (2019). Then we realised what a great race it is to win with Nassak Diamond a couple of years ago. If we can get another starter over there, we will be tickled pink. We will be doing our absolute best to try and get her to that Jericho Cup.”

Tempest Moon has had just 13 starts so far for a win, four placings and $38,465 in prize-money. She is a granddaughter of the Group One Avondale Cup (2200m) placegetter Upstaged (In The Wings).

Meanwhile, Saturday’s winner I’m A Dirty Rascal added a first New Zealand victory to a career that has previously seen him compete in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Australia.

He was bred in Ireland by Coolmore and began his career with a maiden win over 2500 metres at Limerick in July of 2021 and a fourth in the Group One Irish St Leger (2800m) in September of that year.

After eight starts across Ireland and the United Kingdom, I’m A Dirty Rascal relocated to Australia, where he finished fourth in the Listed Christmas Cup (2400m) and sixth in the Group Three Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m), Group Three Bendigo Cup (2400m) and Listed RM Ansett Stakes (2400m).

In one of his first starts in Te Akau Racing’s tangerine colours earlier this year, I’m A Dirty Rascal caught the eye with an unlucky ninth in the Group Two Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie in March.

“It’s really good to see him back in the winner’s circle,” said Mark Walker, who trains in partnership with Sam Bergerson. “It had been 1573 days since his only win, but he still remembered how to get the job done, so congratulations to the horse.

“We bought him with the idea of having a Cups horse and he was actually really unlucky in the Auckland Cup earlier this year when he was coming into it.

“It was really good to get that confidence-building win today, and his next start will be the New Zealand Cup, where we expect him to run out the trip very strongly.”