Watch out for Almo Street
Lisa Latta isn’t anticipating Almo Street having any trouble making his way through the grades.
‘‘He’s a really nice horse with plenty of ability,’’ the Awapuni trainer said.
Almo Street collected a win and a placing in four starts during his initial preparation through the spring and summer and at Hastings on Saturday he made an impressive return to racing.
The Alamosa four-year-old was a clear last out of the gates, but recovered well under a no panic ride from Jonathan Riddell to account for the Rating 65 sprinters.
‘‘I was a bit worried about him earlier in the day when it started drizzling, but he was good once he got out into the better part of the track,’’ Latta said.
She has no immediate plans for Almo Street, who is raced by breeders and long-time stable clients Bill Gleeson, of Wellfield Lodge, and John Street, of Lincoln Farms.
‘‘We’ll look after him and there will be races for him at the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, Almo Street’s talented stablemate Five To Midnight has begun his build-up toward one of the spring’s feature events.
"I was a bit worried about him earlier in the day when it started drizzling, but he was good once he got out into the better part of the track." Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta
‘‘We’ll only be looking at the last day, the Livamol Classic, at Hastings with him and he’ll probably run in the Merial Mile before that,’’ Latta said.
Five To Midnight hasn’t raced since he produced a dominant performance to win the Listed Hawke’s Bay Gold Cup.
The rising five-year-old had previously placed in the Group II Awapuni Gold Cup and at Group III level in both the City of Auckland Cup and Manawatu Cups. He also finished fifth in the Group I Auckland Cup.
- NZ Racing Desk