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Crocetti on song for season resumption
Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • August 20th, 2026 2:57 pm
Crocetti will resume in the Gr.2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa on Sunday. Photo: Megan Liefting (Race Images)
Last season was one to forget for the connections of dual Group One winner Crocetti, and they are hoping he can return to his form of old this term.
Following an unsuccessful hit-and-run mission on the A$5 million Quokka (1200m) in Perth last year, the son of Zacinto just had the two starts last season, and things went awry on more than one occasion.
“We left him out a bit longer and he missed spring racing, and with his high rating there were no races for him,” said Danny Walker, who trains in partnership with Arron Tata.
“I had him in at Rotorua and I scratched him because it was a bit too wet. He then got a spider bite, so we had to treat him for that.
“He went okay in the Telegraph (Gr.1, 1200m), I was quite happy with his run (finishing eighth equal). The inside 5m was like gold and he got into the worst part of the ground, and he pugged on okay.
“He pulled up a bit average after (finishing last in) the Railway (Gr.1, 1200m). We scoped him at the races and found he had a lot of mucus in his trachea. We treated him and he couldn’t turn around and go to the BCD Group Sprint (Gr.1, 1400m), so there was only one race for him at weight-for-age, so we decided to give him a good spell.”
Walker said he has thrived during his time in the paddock, and he is pleased with the way he has returned, which was emphasised by his trial win at Ruakaka over 1050m at the start of the month.
“It was a nice trial and he has come on since his trial,” Walker said. “Arron galloped him on Saturday and Wednesday and he is really happy with him.”
Crocetti will resume in Saturday’s Gr.2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa, and while pleased with his charge, Walker is aware of the task ahead of him against a strong field.
“I think it is one of the best Foxbridge Plates there has been for years,” he said.
Alabama Lass currently heads the market for the race on $2.50, with Crocetti the fourth elect at $10, behind First Five ($6.50) and Churchillian ($8.50).
All going to plan, Crocetti will progress to the first two legs of the Spring Triple Crown.
“He will go from here to the Proisir Plate (Gr.1, 1400m) and then to the Howden Mile (Gr.1, 1600m), and that is all that is left for him in the spring,” Walker said.
While Crocetti hasn’t raced over a mile since winning the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) as a three-year-old, Walker is looking forward to extending him past sprint distances this season.
“We would like to get him up to a mile,” he said. “The new kids on the block are a bit sharper over 1200m, but I think 1400m to a mile is ideal for him.”
Meanwhile, the stable could be in for an exciting season with Crocetti’s three-year-old half-sister Shalabiya, who finished runner-up behind She’s No Saint in last Saturday’s Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Ruakaka.
“We are really proud of her,” Walker said. “It was a nice run, she just got beaten by a better horse on the day. She will have her day in the sun.”
The daughter of Brazen Beau is on a path towards the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November, with the Gr.2 Windsor Park Stud Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) at Ellerslie in October her next major assignment.
“We have just got to get there (Riccarton) in the right state and make sure everything is 100 percent,” Walker said. “She won’t go to the Gold Trail (Gr.3, 1200m), she will probably go to the Soliloquy.”
Walker is also excited about the prospects of several other stable members this season, including three-year-old Turn Me Loose gelding Loose’N’Eight.
“I think he will shape up,” Walker said. “He will probably trial in September when the tracks are better, he is a decent track horse.”
