HEDDO GETS FIRST GROUP 1 RUNNER IN CAULFIELD CUP
- John Curtis
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Courtesy of Kings Valley’s win in yesterday’s $300,000 Listed Mornington Cup (2000m), he now has a runner in one of Australia’s great handicaps, the $5m Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).
Heddo part-owns the gelding, who gained a “golden ticket” into the Cup.
Ridden by Lachlan Neindorf, Kings Valley ($6.50) just edged out Pounding ($10) in an exact quinella repeat of the recent Bairnsdale Cup (1600m).
“I’ve never had a Group 1 runner, and it’s very exciting,” Heddo said last night as he celebrated the gelding’s triumph.
The Hawkesbury CEO revealed how he came to be involved with the Ciaron Maher-trained Irish import.
“I had a share in another horse with Ciaron, but he didn’t measure up in a few runs and was moved on,” he explained.
“Because of that I was on the stable’s data base of owners, and when Ciaron went to the Tattersalls sale in England in 2023, I was kept up to date with stable purchases.
“Kings Valley caught my eye being a half-brother to Crystal Pegasus, an import (trained by Chris Waller) who coincidentally won the 2022 Mornington Cup and went on to run 14th in the Caulfield Cup that year.
“Kings Valley (by Territories) had raced only four times for two placings at Sandown Park in the UK, so as a lightly-raced young horse I thought there would be plenty of upside with him.”
Kings Valley was placed at his first two starts at Canterbury in April and May 2024, and broke through for his first win later that year at Horsham (Victoria) in a 1400m Maiden Plate.
He has now won six races and nearly $560,000 in prizemoney from a total of 24 starts.
“Ciaron and his team targeted the Mornington Cup and have done a fantastic job with Kings Valley to win the race and now qualify for the Caulfield Cup,” Heddo said.
Heddo has been a keen racehorse owner for many years with varying degrees of success.
He currently has shares in The Biv, a recent Orange winner for leading Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup, and former Godolphin four-year-old Squeezebox, trained at Wyong by Kim Waugh.
“I’ve had some great times in racehorse ownership, including running third in the 2016 Provincial Championships Final with His Majesty, who was also trained by Kim,” Heddo said.
“But having my first runner in a Group 1 race will be my biggest thrill as an owner, and I’m counting down the days until the big day.”
. Hawkesbury trainer Steve O’Halloran’s smart sprinter Mal Coupe has come to the end of his current successful campaign.
Mal Coupe ($12) wasn’t beaten far when sixth to Mazu in yesterday’s Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick, and will go for a well-deserved spell.
“He has five hard runs (winning his first two) this campaign getting up in stronger class, and even though he still ran well yesterday, showed that he has enough for the time being,” O’Halloran said today.
“Winona Costin rode him exactly as we had planned, and thought he was going to win coming up the rise until he flattened out.”
Mal Coupe, a homebred four-year-old by Xtravagant, has won six races – and five of them were in a row.
O’Halloran won his seventh race for the season when Benamera ($6) beat three rivals in a Class 2 Handicap (1300m) at Canberra last Friday.
“Considering the small field after five scratchings, I was surprised at his odds,” he said.
“Benamera had won second-up at Newcastle at 1400m, and I brought him back from 1600m last time at Hawkesbury to 1300m with three weeks between runs.”
Benamera was jockey Quaye Krogh’s first ride for the trainer, but the pair knew each other years back when both were based at Randwick with Gai Waterhouse AO.”
