Heroic Valour Resumes

The Informant reports:

Heroic Valour is already a Group One winner at Ellerslie, and he will take his first step along the road to repeating that feat when he resumes in Saturday's John Deere Agrowquip 1500.

The blue-blooded Te Akau colt became the first of Fastnet Rock's progeny anywhere in the world to win a Group One race as a two-year-old when he scored in the Diamond Stakes last March. It was the perfect end to an impressive three-start, three-win juvenile campaign that stamped him as one of the best of his generation.

Heroic Valour kept his unbeaten record alive with a superb performance to snatch a last-gasp win in the Listed Northland Breeders' Stakes in September, which he followed with placings in the Gr. 2 Hawke's Bay Guineas, Listed Barneswood Farm Stakes and Gr. 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas.

Currently rated a $12 fourth favourite for the $1 million Gr. 1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby in March, Heroic Valour made his first public appearance since the 2000 Guineas when he galloped in company with star stablemate Xtravagant at Ellerslie on December 29.

“He went very nicely in that exhibition gallop and his work since then has been excellent,” co-trainer Jamie Richards said.

Heroic Valour has a perfect first-up record, scoring on debut as a two-year-old and winning the Northland Breeders' Stakes fresh-up in the spring. He will have to carry 60.5 kilograms against nine rivals in tomorrow's $20,000 race.

“He's got a bit of weight on Saturday and running first-up over 1500 metres isn't ideal, we probably would have preferred a 1400-metre race,” Richards said. “But we're very happy with him and he's been making good progress.

“This should be a nice lead-in to the Karaka 3YO Mile back at Ellerslie in a couple of weeks' time.”

Heroic Valour is set to clash with a star-studded field in that $250,000 event, with confirmed runners including Derby favourite Sacred Elixir, unbeaten filly Volpe Veloce and stylish last-start winner Stephenstihls.

In the meantime, tomorrow's field includes the Listed winner Ichiban, who was an eye-catching and fast-finishing fifth in the Listed Mufhasa Stakes two starts back. He beat only one runner home in the Gr. 2 Great Northern Guineas last time out, but didn't get all favours in the running.

Foreigner, Time To Celebrate, Wooden Red and Dreams Of Paris are all last-start winners, while Veearma was an impressive debut winner at this course before failing in the Listed Soliloquy Stakes and a last-start fourth in a strong field at Te Rapa.