By Alan Carasso
Volkstok'n'barrell (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), whose four Group 1 victories include the 2015 Rosehill Guineas, will be relocated to Singapore when trainer Donna Logan opens her new stable at Kranji, racingnews.co.nz reported Wednesday.
Purchased by Logan for NZ$50,000 at the 2013 NZB Select Yearling Sale and trained in partnership with Chris Gibbs, Volkstok'n'barrell was a Group 2 winner and runner-up in the 2015 G1 New Zealand Derby before launching a successful Australian raid that saw him post a narrow success in the Rosehill Guineas. Victorious in the G1 Haunui Farm Classic and the G1 New Zealand S. in 2016, he tacked on a win in the 2017 G1 Herbie Dyke S. The 6-year-old was a latest third in the G1 Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie Dec. 26 and is not expected to start again prior to his departure for Singapore.
“We're just keeping him ticking over until he heads up there,” Gibbs said.
From 31 trips to the post, Volkstok'n'barrell has nine wins and better than US$1 million in earnings.
Logan announced her intention to relocate last November to attempt to follow in the footprints of fellow Kiwi trainers such as Laurie Laxon, Stephen Gray and Mark Walker. The move has been on hold since Logan suffered a fractured skull in a fall last month. In Singapore, Volkstok'n'barrell is likely to be targeted for races like the Kranji Mile in May, and the Raffles Cup (1600m), the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) and Dester Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) later in the season. Each of those tests offers prize money of S$1 million or more.
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