Mum-to-be is too good
A stunning performance by the royally-bred Abidewithme steamrolled the Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan-owned mare to victory in Saturday’s Group II Tauranga Stakes.
A brilliantly tactical ride by jockey Michael McNab was the determining factor in the victory.
The timing of the win IS part of a perfectly executed plan by her Cambridge Stud owners and Matamata trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards.
The 7-year-old mare has had her latest campaign moulded around more than just winning races.
It has involved carefully timed visits to Cambridge Stud to be served by sire of the moment Tavistock with the ultimate racetrack goal being to win the Group I race named in honour of the stud’s former champion sire Zabeel.
‘‘The Zabeel Classic is the race we’ve got our eye on,’’ Autridge said. ‘‘ We’ve waited before we sent her to Tavistock so the timing works for the Zabeel.
‘‘She goes for her final scan this week to confirm she’s in foal and her win at Tauranga shows she’s at the top of her game.’’
The $200,000 Group I Zabeel Classic (2000m) is run at weightfor-age on Boxing Day at the same distance of the Group II Travis Stakes which Abidewithme won.
Her final race will be another Group I, the Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa in February while her next is in the Group I Captain Cook Stakes on December 3.
While it was all action in the initial 400m of the 1600m contest, McNab was cruising along at the rear of the field on Abidewithme.
Several jockeys decided they wanted the early speed and they went hammer and tongs up front before Amarula and Shaun McKay won that battle.
McKay then took the speed out of the race and the pace became moderate.
That didn’t perturb McNab or Cameron Lammas aboard El Pescado in second last spot.
They had their mounts in a happy rhythm and when they KENTON WRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY pressed their respective buttons the response was telling.
Lammas was the first to go and as the field swung for home he burst up the centre of the track and looked likely to take the largest slice of the $100,000 stake.
McNab had other ideas and set Abidewithme alight wide on the home stretch and her irresistible finish was too much for the Stu Manning-trained runner-up with Julinsky Prince surging into third.
The big, powerful Redoubte’s Choice mare out of Group-winner Crimson, was notching win nine and took her winnings to around $440,000.
She has gained wins on both sides of the Tasman and has huge value as she heads to the broodmare paddock with the possibilty of more to come
Volpe Veloce earlier underlined the tragedy of not making Riccarton for the Group I 1000 Guineas with a dominant win in Mainfreight 3YO over 1400m.
Circumstances conspired against her making the Group I journey but the daughter of Foxwedge kept her perfect formline intact with an effortless win over pacemaker Barcelo.
Jockey Johnathan Parkes gave her an economical run in the trail and when she pounced it was all over in a stride as the striking galloper cruised clear by two and a-quarter lengths.
Her four from four record emphasises her ability and will encourage her Matamata trainer Graham Richardson the the $20,00 to seek bigger riches than Saturday’s $20,000.
Richardson maintains missing Christchurch could be a blessing in disguise as he aims towards 3-year-old filly races like Awapuni’s Eulogy Stakes on December 10 and the Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day at Ellerslie.