Sydney jockey Rachel King wondered if she would make it to Caulfield in time for her ride on Arapaho in the Zipping Classic.
King was forced to miss two of her earlier rides on the Caulfield card after being stranded in Sydney on Saturday due to a delay with flights because of poor weather.
She eventually landed in Melbourne and made a rushed trip from Tullamarine Airport to Caulfield in time for the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes in which she partnered Earlswood.
It was the ideal warm for the Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m) as King gave the Bjorn Baker-trained Arapaho a perfect steer to win the weight-for-age contest.
Sent out the $4.40 favourite, Arapaho proved too strong for Smokin’ Romans ($15) in scoring by three-quarters-of-a-length win Berkeley Square ($5.50) a further 4-¾ lengths away third.
“There were delays in and out of Sydney and we were about three hours late,” King said.
“I had plenty of time to get here for my first couple, but unfortunately, I ended up missing them, but I knew it would be worth it when I got here.
“I have to say sorry to connections of the first couple, I missed those, but I did get to have one go around on the track beforehand and that ran well and gave me a little bit of a warm-up before the 2400 metres.”
King has had a long and successful association with Arapaho, winning the Canberra Cup and the Group 1 Tancred Stakes in 2023 aboard the stayer.
“He’s a dream but I can’t take much credit for it,” King said.
“He’s the same in good, soft, heavy and I wish all horses were like him.
“He’s got the biggest heart, and it was extra special today as we lost one of his owners not long ago and we had his funeral this week, so I think Griffo (Paul Griffin) gave us a push over the line today.”
Luke Hilton, deputising for Baker who was in Perth to saddle Overpass in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes, said Arapaho was a special horse for the stable.
Hilton said Arapaho had been struggling to strike top form, but a gallop on Tuesday lifted the stable’s confidence.
“Bjorn said to me, ‘I’ve never ever had a stayer, or him, work like he did on Tuesday’,” Hilton said.
“We came full of confidence, the track was obviously a little bit of a question mark, so it was a really good result and he’s back.”
