Arigato (NZ) All the Way in Charity Cup

Just a few days after the catalogue was launched for the 2025 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, the world’s leading sale of two-year-olds celebrated another new stakes-winning graduate – Arigato (NZ) (Charm Spirit).

Bought for $150,000 from the 2020 Ready to Run Sale, Arigato led from start to finish and picked up the biggest win of his career in Sunday’s RM100,000 Perak Charity Cup (1400m).

Arigato was offered by Henley Park in Book 1 of Karaka 2020 and was knocked down for $100,000. He returned to Karaka later that year as a member of Woburn Farm’s draft for the Ready to Run Sale, where he was bought by Golden River Investments.

Previously a nine-race winner in Macau, Arigato has now added three wins from 12 starts in Malaysia for owners the Neo Stable. That gives him an overall total of 38 starts for 12 wins and two placings.

Arigato jumped sharply from the starting gates on Sunday for jockey Wong Kam Chong and took up the lead, and he never surrendered that advantage. He kicked hard off the home turn and quickly put two to three lengths on his nearest challenger.

Salaam Namastey (NZ) (Prince Of Brooklyn) emerged from the pack and ate into Arigato’s margin to lodge a strong late challenge, but the favourite held him out and completed an all-the-way victory by a neck.

Trainer Lim Shung You is now keen to target the RM300,000 Ready to Run Sale Championship (1400m), which is for Sale graduates and will be run at Selangor on October 12.

“I was confident before this race, because he had done well in the prep,” Lim said. “Our plan was for Arigato to lead, and hope he goes all the way, because that was how he won his last race.

“We are planning to enter him in the New Zealand (NZB) Ready To Run Sale Championship.”

The Ready to Run Sale Championship will be the second race held in recognition of the Selangor Turf Club’s relationship with New Zealand Bloodstock. The first race, the NZB Ready to Run 2023 Graduate Cup (1400m) was run in April and was won by Duma (NZ) (Too Darn Hot).

The 2025 edition of the Ready to Run Sale will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre on Wednesday 12 & Thursday 13 November, with Breeze Ups to be held at Te Rapa Racecourse on Monday 13 & Tuesday 14 October.