3 Oct 2008
The Viking Ruler four-year-old gelding,
Red Ruler, registered a second Group 1 placing when he finished second in Saturday's $2 million Kelt Capital Stakes at Hastings.
Red Ruler beat home all but classy racemare Princess Coup in the 2040 weight-for-age Hawke's Bay feature.
In the autumn Red Ruler had also finished second at Group 1 level in the AJC Derby (2400m) at Royal Randwick.
On that occasion he was beaten home by fellow Kiwi galloper Nom Du Jeu. This time at Hastings Red Ruler turned the tables with Nom Du Jeu being the third runner home in the Kelt Capital Stakes.
Red Ruler scored at Group 2 level last season in the Lexus Championship Stakes (2100m) at Ellerslie.
The performance of Red Ruler on Saturday has confirmed plans by trainer John Sargent to take him to the Melbourne spring carnival.
Red Ruler is entered for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups at the lucrative Victoria spring racing carnival.
Red Ruler should managed to gain a place in the 18-horse field for the Caulfield Cup on October 18 and is weighted to be a winning chance with 5kg below weight-for-age for the race. He has been handicapped at only 52.5kg for the Caulfield Cup.
Viking Ruler (pictured above) stands for a fee of $10,000 plus GST.