McCarthy eyeing up NZ Cup defence with Kingman

By Adam Hamilton 

Champion trainer Luke McCarthy is counting down the days.

His reigning NZ and Victoria Cup champion Kingman is just weeks away from a trial and racetrack return.

And he’s got McCarthy buzzing.

“He’s great. He’s comeback really well and I’ll sure be back in his best form when he heads back to the races,” McCarthy said.

“He’d just come to the end of it last time in work. He’s done a lot and he’s a horse who doesn’t really like the heat, so those five runs close together in Victoria took a toll.

“We’ll learn from that and be more selective with his races this time, but the Victoria and NZ Cups are definite targets again.

“I’d say he’s two to three weeks off a trial and then we’ll get two or three runs into him in September to get him ready for the Victoria Cup.

“Then it’s back to NZ after that.”

Life moves quickly and it seems so long since many felt Kingman was on the verge of snatching Leap To Fame’s crown as the best pacer in this part of the world.

That NZ Cup win was the arguably the win of the year in 2025.

“He didn’t just beat Leap To Fame once, he beat him three times, before and after the NZ Cup,” McCarthy said.

“Don’t forget he held him out and easily beat him in the Shepparton Cup in January, too.

“And his Hunter Cup run, after getting into that early trouble, was amazingly big.

“We know how good he is and what he’s capable of, so it’s just a matter of getting him back to that form, which I’m really confident we will after a good break like he’s had.”

McCarthy is looking longer term with his other stable star, Miracle Mile and Inter Dominion winner Don Hugo.

“He had a strained suspensory (ligament) which forced him out of the Inter Dominion, but the latest scan was really encouraging,” he said.

“He’s doing rehab and we’ll take our time, so we’re looking more towards the Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile early next year with him.

“He could be back racing at the end of the year, but we won’t be rushing.”

In other stable news, star three-year-old filly Ripples is being set for another Kiwi raid.

But before that she will target the Group 1 Victoria Oaks in October.

"After that, she's booked to go back to NZ for a heat of the Nevele R series, that final and then the NZ Oaks," owner Mick Harvey said.

"She's had a fantastic season and this next few months can further underline how she's the best filly in Australasia."