Baker’s consolation win
It’s been a challenging week for unwanted sevens star Kurt Baker but Justlikeyasister has at least given him something to smile about.
Justlikeyasister was a one-length winner in the $30,000 open handicap 1400m feature at Awapuni yesterday to bring up her second win in succession.
Baker, who was controversially left out of Sir Gordon Tietjens sevens squad for the Rio Olympic Games seven days ago, is part of the ownership team that races Justlikeyasister along with former Manawatu Turbos flanker Nick Crosswell and her trainer Gary Vile.
The omission of Baker has been the major talking point of Tietjens’s Rio squad.
The 5-year-old Gold Centre mare holds a nomination for the Group III Winter Cup at Riccarton on August 6 and has likely done enough to book her trip south with two wins on the trot.
Bookmakers opened Justlikeyasister at $61 for the $100,000 feature, on the opening day of Riccarton’s Grand National Carnival, but have crunched her in to $16 following Saturday’s win.
Like her last start win at Awapuni on June 18, Justlikeyasister was again on a heavy 11 and only carrying 54kg on Saturday.
The Allan Sharrock-trained Gypsy Fair never gave up the fight in second with a further one-and-a-half lengths back to Sir Kingwood in third.
The news was not so good for Vile’s second runner in the race Slimline who was declared a starter despite not leaving the gates.
Slimline managed to get her head caught over the side of the barrier stall.
Justlikeyasister’s win gave Lisa Allpress a race-to-race double following her win aboard Ladies First.
Lisa Latta’s impressive two-year-old winner Manhattan Street will be heading straight to the Listed Ryder Stakes at Otaki on July 30.
‘‘He would be a very good chance of winning that (Ryder Stakes),’’ Saturday’s successful rider Jonathan Riddell said.
‘‘He’s improved all the time through jump-outs to trials and race day. He’s a lovely horse with a lot of upside to him.’’
Raced by Lincoln Farms Ltd, Wellfield Holdings Ltd and Neville McAlister, Manhattan Street brought up win number two in his promising career from as many starts.
The smartly-bred Manhattan Rain colt is out of Charming Estelle, a sister to Lankan Rupee who topped the world sprint rankings in 2014.
But Latta believes Manhattan Street will be better over ground.
‘‘I hadn’t done a lot with him since he won at Otaki and there will be a lot of improvement in him going on to the Ryder,’’ the Awapuni trainer said.
‘‘He’s going to get over ground and that’s why I was a bit surprised he won first up.’’
Manhattan Street and the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Gata had the finish to themselves with Rosewood a distant third.
Platinum Command’s win in the last of the eight races, a rating 75 over 1600m, brought up a double for Latta and the Lincoln Farms and McAlister partnership.
The win also gave apprentice Timothy Johnson a winning double following his earlier victory with Tiger Moss.