GENEVA SIMPLY TOO GOOD IN THE MANAWAYU CLASSIC

By Graham Potter | Saturday, March 28, 2026

The Kylie Hoskin trained Geneva scored a dominant win in the Manawatu Classic at Trentham.

The son of Time Test was coming off a strong third place result in the NZ Derby in a race in which his finishing effort was compromised when he was carried off a straight line inside the final 100m by the first two placegetters Road To Paris and Autumn Gold in a run to the line that led to a double protest.

Rory Hutchings took over the ride on Geneva this this time and his judgement proved pivotal to Geneva getting back to winning form.

Hutchings took Geneva to the front early over the 2100m trip and the favourite controlled the race throughout, not going too hard down the back stretch and even allowing the nearest challengers to get closer to him in the approach to the home turn, but Hutchings was basically just marking time up front, knowing what he had under him.

When all of that early patience had served its purpose, Hutchings allowed Geneva to extend soon after turning for home and the smart three-year-old needed no second asking, pulling clear with seemingly little effort to race away in commanding fashion to secure a well-deserved win.

Circus Trix finished second 1.50 lengths back with King Jakkal just a further nose behind that in a close go for the minor placings.