Taranaki Cup tune-up for El Vencedor
Paul Vettise - Raceform • January 22nd, 2026 11:41 AM • 3 min read
A trip south to New Plymouth on Saturday will have reigning New Zealand Horse of the Year El Vencedor primed for his upcoming defence of Group One weight-for-age crowns.
While trainer Stephen Marsh’s post-Christmas focus is on adding to his charge’s haul of elite-level titles, there is confidence in his ability to collect the thick end of the stake in the Gr.3 Denis Wheeler Earthmoving Taranaki Cup along the way.
“He’s in really good shape and he worked over ground on Tuesday morning and I thought he galloped up really well,” the Cambridge conditioner said. “He will certainly be competitive the way he worked over 1400m at home and he pulled up nicely.”
El Vencedor’s first major target after his Central Districts sojourn will be next month’s Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa, a race in which he comfortably defeated La Crique 12 months ago.
“He just needs another run to tighten him up and this will top him off beautifully,” Marsh said. “We’ll see how he goes in the Herbie Dyke first and then we’ll work it out, but we’ll more than likely follow a similar path to last time.”
El Vencedor carried on his impeccable form after Te Rapa in the 2024-25 season to win the Gr.1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic and then claimed top honours for the second year in a row in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes.
More recently, the son of Shocking added the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes to his resume before finishing runner-up in the Gr.3 Great Northern Challenge Stakes but was out of the frame last time out in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic.
“For a lot of horses that was a bit of a messy race, and we’ve put a line through it and moved on,” Marsh said. “Jonathan Riddell is going to ride El Vencedor at New Plymouth, it’s great to have him on and I think he will suit the horse well.”
Stablemate Doddle will also run in the Taranaki Cup off the back of a tidy effort over ground at Tauranga, where she finished runner-up to stablemate Kiwi Skyhawk. She was due a change in fortune after finishing unplaced in the Taupō Cup, a race she had won previously, following an interrupted run.
The Marsh stable will also be represented by 2024 Gr.1 Telegraph winner Mercurial in the Warner Construction Handicap. He hasn’t won since but was sixth two runs back in a competitive Gr.3 J Swap Sprint line-up at Te Rapa and was only three lengths off winner and Gr.1 Sistema Railway contender Sweynesday at Ellerslie last time out.
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