Logan and Gibbs show
RUAKAKA personalities Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs put on a training masterclass with six wins on a nine-race card at their hometown race meeting yesterday.
Comeback jockey Troy Harris wasn’t about to let the trainers steal all the limelight, the talented rider chimed in with a worthwhile contribution.
Harris claimed the first three races on the programme with Chasing Great, Pursued (who led home a stable trifecta), and Rocstock.
Rocstock, a son of Tavistock, was heavily supported on his debut for Cambridge owners Bruce and Maureen Harvey, and landed some big bets with support coming as soon as markets opened – he closed at $3.60 in fixed betting.
The $80,000 Karaka yearling purchase continued the success the stable has enjoyed with the progeny of Cambridge Stud stallion Tavistock – a list headed by Volkstok’n’barrell, along with Hasselhoof, Tavidream and Midnitemagicman.
‘‘When Troy presented him he was quite green,’’ Logan said. ‘‘He didn’t know whether to take the gap. He’s a horse in progress – he’s a nice horse – we love those Tavistocks.’’
Harris will be happy to stick with the 3-year-old gelding whose dam Save The Last Danz is a halfsister to the Hong Kong champion Armada.
‘‘The more he does, the better he’ll be,’’ he said. There’s just a lot of untapped potential there. He’s pretty special.’’
Harris made his mark on Chasing Great with the jockey the essence of cool, finding a run on the gelding after becoming awkwardly placed.
‘‘Troy is as cool as a cucumber,’’ Logan said. ‘‘I was sweating a bit at the 600 but Troy rode him a treat, the gaps opened up and away he went.’’
It took a special performance from John Morell-owned and trained 2-year-old filly Florence Jean to break the Logan and Gibbs stranglehold.
The daughter of Pins bolted home in the fourth on the card over 1000m to set up an early spring assault on the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival 3-year-old features.
Morell will keep his exciting filly ticking over so long as tracks are at least as good as yesterday’s downgraded Dead6 from Dead5.
The grand campaigner Amarula scored his ninth win for Matamata’s McKay family with his Waipu Cup win over 1600m.
The Peter and Kim McKayowned 4-year-old trained by Peter and ridden by son Shaun, carried 60kg to out-tough Spider in the drive to the line to boost his earnings to around $250,000.
He will return to Ruakaka in a few weeks with his trainer keen to test him over 2100m.
Normal transmission resumed in the sixth with Logan and Gibbs providing the quinella courtesy of Zafrenzy who had a ding-dong battle with runner-up Greencast. TRISH DUNELL
They had to share the spoils when Toorak Tower deadheated with the Steven Cole-trained Creative Genius in the seventh and wrapped the day up with Rockabyebaby winning the last.
On a day notable for multiple success, Alysha Collett moved to equal second on the jockeys’ premiership with a bag of four wins.