Te Rapa might not have the same ring to it as Longchamp, Flemington or Sha Tin but star French jockey Gerald Mosse is only too happy to head to the New Zealand track to ride his namesake in a Listed race.

The 49-year-old's major wins include the 1990 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Saumarez and the 2010 Melbourne Cup on Americain.

Mosse is a long-time friend of trainer John Bell and has jumped at the chance to ride Mosse in the Legacy Lodge Sprint on Saturday.

"Gerald and I have been mates for 20-odd years," Bell told NZ Racing Desk.

"I used to sell horse feed all around Asia for about 18 years and through that I got to know Gerald and I used to stay with him in Hong Kong a lot.

"We've been buddies for a long time and I was talking to Gerald a few nights ago when he was in Singapore and he asked me what Mosse was doing and I told him he was running on Saturday and he said he would come down and ride him."

Mosse the horse is returning from an 11-month injury break with Bell hoping he can stake his claim to run in the Group One Railway Stakes at Ellerslie on New Year's Day.