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Classy hurdler ready to Roc at Riccarton
Jess de Lautour, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • July 26th, 2026 5:43 pm
Roc Up Ralph winning the Comag Open Hurdle (3100m) at Te Aroha on Sunday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Roc Up Ralph announced himself as a leading contender for the Hospitality NZ Canterbury 136th Grand National Hurdles (4200m) with a gritty win in the Comag Open Hurdle (3100m) at Te Aroha on Sunday.
In a market dominated by Weneedashock, Roc Up Ralph closed at $4.60 in Sunday’s contest and was slightly underrated after pushing Billy Boy right to the wire in the Wellington Hurdles (3200m) last start.
Coming off a lengthy spell, Central Districts visitor Harry Harrison was full of running early and set a strong tempo while jockey Hamish McNeill settled Roc Up Ralph in the second half of the field. He remained patient when the pressure ramped up along the back straight, sticking to the fence and saving ground around the home turn.
Weneedashock and So Call Me hit the lead at the top of the straight but were swarmed with challengers, and it was Jake and Roc Up Ralph who jumped the final fence in front. Both rated it well but it was Roc Up Ralph who got away best, kicking clear to hold out Jake at the line by a long head.
Juwala closed off well into third at his first attempt in open company, ahead of Weneedashock.
Shaun Clotworthy, who trains in partnership with his wife Emma, said the performance was what they had hoped for before heading south.
“I was really pleased with him, we were wanting to ride him patiently today and see him finding the line as his main target is down in Christchurch,” he said.
“There was plenty of speed in the race, so they came back to him and he was game. He jumped well and that is his sort of ground as well, it was the right track for him.
“He was still a little bit burly so that will bring him on nicely.”
The Grand National Carnival will kick off next Saturday at Riccarton Park and Clotworthy confirmed Roc Up Ralph will bypass the Avon City Ford Sydenham Hurdles (3100m) to solely contest the National on August 8.
“That’s the plan, he’ll just be there for the last day,” he said.
“We thought we would get him down there this year, Terry Lines sponsors a little bit down there and he’s the main owner, so he’d probably quite like to see his colours going around.”
Now a winner of three races over hurdles in six attempts, Roc Up Ralph has earned over $145,000 for connections including the Clotworthys and the Lines’, after purchasing him for $6,250 on gavelhouse.com in February 2022.
Bred by The Oaks Stud, Roc Up Ralph was the second winner for sire Roc de Cambes on the Te Aroha card, after Carignan claimed a breakthrough win over fences in the P Brosnan Contracting Maiden Hurdle (3100m).
