In A Pickle (NZ) Secures Golden Ticket to Jericho Cup

A horse that was bought for just $4,000 from Karaka 2020 has earned the opportunity to race for A$300,000 in the Jericho Cup (4600m) at Warrnambool on November 29.

The first of two annual Jericho Cup qualifying races in New Zealand, the $40,000 NZB Airfreight Road to Jericho (3210m), was run at New Plymouth on Saturday and was won by In A Pickle (NZ) (Preferment).

The winner of each qualifier receives a guaranteed start in the Jericho Cup, and NZB Airfreight offers a $5,000 equine airfreight credit for the winner of each qualifying race, should they decide to travel across the Tasman and contest the Jericho Cup.

In A Pickle was offered by Wentwood Grange in Book 2 of Karaka 2020 and was bought for $4,000. He later changed hands again on Gavelhouse.com, where he was purchased for $6,250. He has now earned $127,315 from a 37-race career that has produced six wins, three seconds and four thirds.

Saturday’s Road to Jericho was a new career high for the eight-year-old, who sat in the second half of the field before swooping around the outside to take the lead with 500 metres to run.

In A Pickle rounded the home turn more than three lengths clear of his nearest challenger, but then Slick Chick (NZ) (Reliable Man) came with a big late run down the outside. In A Pickle dug deep for jockey Rihaan Goyaram and held on to win by a short half-head. There was a margin of six and a half lengths back to Early Times (American Pharoah) in third.

In A Pickle is trained by Ralph Manning, who is unsure about a trip to Australia for the Jericho Cup but is not ruling it out.

“It was a really good win, but looking ahead, I’m not sure he is the right type of horse for a Jericho Cup,” he said. “However, that is not my decision – it’s for the owners.

“He can be pretty quirky and isn’t a great traveller, so we haven’t really taken him too far for his races.

“On his day he does have good ability, but he is the type that if he doesn’t like something, including the rider, he just won’t gallop. He even does it at trackwork. Rihaan gets on pretty well with him, so he can get him going along and doing his best.

“I thought it was a pretty good ride, although I told him he was six inches from going too early. But, since we got the photo in our favour, he was a genius.”

The second Jericho Cup qualifier in New Zealand this season will be run at Riccarton on October 24.

The Jericho Cup was inaugurated in 2018, commemorating the light horse involvement in World War I and run on the fourth Sunday after the Group One Melbourne Cup (3200m). The original Jericho Cup was run in 1918 over three miles through desert sands. Its 100th anniversary was marked with the introduction of the modern Jericho Cup eight years ago.

The New Zealand influence on the Jericho Cup has quickly taken hold, with six of the first eight winners bred on this side of the Tasman – High Mode (NZ) (Redwood), Ablaze (NZ) (Raise the Flag), Count Zero (NZ) (Zed), Nassak Diamond and the 2024 and 2025 back-to-back winner Farag (NZ) (Sacred Falls).

Vendor	Wentwood Grange
Purchaser	Ms KR Brady (Wellington)
Breeding	Preferment – Snooty
Sale	Lot 875, Karaka 2020 Book 2, $4,000
Breeder	Peachester Lodge Pty Ltd
Owner	Win Or Booze #2 Syndicate