New Zealand Cup start on the line for Pinseeker at Ashburton
Matt Markham - Raceform • October 25th, 2025 6:00 PM • 4 min read
If a New Zealand Trotting Cup start comes to fruition for Pinseeker over the coming weeks, Jonny Cox will be a happy man, but he won’t be up in arms if it doesn’t.
Monday’s NZB Airfreight Ashburton Flying Stakes will be the final chance for the big son of Downbytheseaside to assert his place inside the top 15 on his own accord, with anything after that relying on the misfortune of others to elevate him up the rankings.
And Cox is there to win after two encouraging runs to open the campaign.
“I’ve been really happy with both starts so far,” he told RaceForm. “He’s relaxed well and found the line strongly on both occasions, without a whole lot of luck in both runs either, so we’re heading in the right direction.”
A slashing second behind Republican Party two weeks ago signalled he’s returned in good fettle, and while the zero in the formline from last week’s Canterbury Classic doesn’t read well, the effort was actually very good.
“We were kind of buggered from the draw and where we ended up in the running, and then we ran into a few walls up the straight which didn’t help. But he was doing his best work through the line, and on the clock he was as good as most of them, so we’re not far off.”
While there’s the might of Republican Party, Don’t Stop Dreaming, We Walk By Faith and Akuta to contend with on Monday, Pinseeker’s high speed makes him a dangerous prospect, especially if he receives some overdue luck.
“Ashburton really suits him, he’s such a big horse and the space out there is great for a horse like him, it’s also a longer straight so he can really wind up if we need him to.
“I think he’ll run a good race. I’d love to get him into a position where he’s not far off them turning for home, because I think he’ll surprise a few with how he lets down.
“I’m under no illusions that we’ll just step out there and beat those really good ones, but he is good enough and capable of running the times to be really competitive with them.”
Good enough to run second to Leap To Fame in a heat of the Queensland Inter Dominion series, and off the back of his eye-catching effort in the Race by Betcha, Pinseeker probably deserves a tilt at the big one on the second Tuesday in November. But being a little late into the campaign put Cox and the horse on the back foot when it came to the rankings.
“He had a good spell after Queensland and I brought him up slowly and chose these three races to try and get our way into the Cup. It just meant we were starting behind most of them and trying to chase a spot.
“If it happens and he gets a start, that will be great, but I’m not too worried if he doesn’t. There’s other races we can target with him.”
Cox will need to rely on a good beginning and a bit of luck early on Monday, with Pinseeker drawn the outside of the front row in a red-hot field.
“He can begin when he catches it right, but even then it might be better just looking to settle in somewhere and find a helmet to follow and drive him for his speed.
“We’ll just have to see how things unfold early and take it from there.”
Making the challenge harder is better draws for all the big bangers of the race with We Walk By Faith (1), Akuta (2) and Republican Party (7).
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