Yin Dragon wins battle of the greys
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.
Frost’s possible plans for 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.’’
❚ 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 Argentinian sire 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 but she’s had a late start,’’ she said.