Wet spring profitable
THE continued wet tracks might have most trainers hoping for a change in the weather but for some, the extended winter conditions are proving profitable.
That was the case for Lisa Latta who watched from home as her winter galloper Yin Dragon banked the winner’s cheque for winning the feature race at the Taranaki Racing Club’s meeting at New Plymouth, the $40,000 Powerworx Greys special conditions 1400m race.
Yin Dragon has not been out of the money in his last five starts and lived up to the that form by edging Taranaki Cup winner Our King Sway by a nose after the two battled down most of the straight.
A last start winner at Manawatu, Yin Dragon was taken to the back of the field that had been reduced to just four runners after the late scratching of Von Tunzelman.
Latta, who rarely attends New Plymouth meetings because of her poor strike rate, left it to Foxton trainer Sandie Cookson to care for the son of No Excuse Needed.
‘‘I thought the other one might have had me to be honest,’’ jockey Rosie Myers said. ‘‘They were both really tough and just kept fighting all the way up the straight.’’ ● Otaki trainer Rachael Frost cut a relieved figure after the opening race when smart mare Euphoria resumed with a win in the Harold Tuson Memorial over the sprint distance of 990m.
Frost was knocked backwards after taking the Rip Van Winkle 4-year-old to Australia in May where she was struck down by a virus.
That forced her to come home and while Eurphoria’s work had been good in the lead-up to her resuming, Frost always wanted to see her on race day to be totally convinced.
‘‘She was just full of snot and they said she needed three weeks of treatment with no work or light work so we were on the back foot and we might as well not have bothered,’’ she said.
‘‘We were in two minds about coming here or giving her another run at the trials but it was a $20,000 prize and if she had of stormed home for third we would have been happy.
‘‘We gave her a decent break after she came home from Queensland and then we’ve had to wait to try and get a better track to resume on.
‘‘She’s a good horse and I guess the win is some compensation for the trials and tribulations we’ve had with her.’’
Frost’s possible plans for SIMON O’CONNOR/STUFF Euphoria, who was sent out a warm $2.20 favourite, include the Taranaki Breeders Stakes at Hawera in a fortnight and possibly on to the Group II Couplands Mile.
‘‘She is in the Couplands but she will probably go in the fillies and mare’s race on the middle day. We might go to the Breeder’s Stakes if she gets in with a light weight but we’ll see how she pulls up and comes back.
‘‘Ideally she will have one more run up here before we head to Christchurch.’’ ● Sensible Princess made the step-up to rating 85 company comfortably, winning the NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race to make it four wins in a row.
The Street Sense mare, trained at Marton by Fraser Auret, was resuming after winning over 1200m at Manawatu in late July and held off the Kevin Myers trained Caramac in the hands of Lisa Allpress to win by a neck.
Course specialist Rosewood, who had won on her previous four attempts at Pukekura, disappointed a shade and finished third after being worked on a long way from home.
A tilt at stakes company could be the next assignment for Sensible Princess after she extended her winning streak.
Facing a small but quality lineup in the NZB Insurance Pearl Series contest, the Fraser Aurettrained 5-year-old dominated the field in her first appearance since winning at Awapuni in late July.
Handled confidently by rider Lisa Allpress, who has been aboard throughout the sequence, Sensible Princess sat outside leader New York Minute before issuing her challenge early in the run home.
The Street Sense mare dug deep to score and has a bright future. ● A start on her home track is next in line for Miss Lizzie after she held off favourite Keep It Savy to win the rating 65 race over 1300m.
The lightly tried 6-year-old daughter of Thano, Miss Lizzie was having just her ninth start in the hands of Anna Jones, for Hawera trainer Anna Clement.
‘‘She’s always shown us a bit of promise,’’ she said.