Top mare’s conqueror well placed for Rich Hill Mile

It was Danzdanzdance who was the star of the show on Boxing Day when she impressively completed a group one double and today it could be the opportunity for On The Rocks, one of her conquerors last season, to shine.

While Danzdanzdance was all the rage to win the group one Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie after her triumph in the group one Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) at Trentham, On The Rocks is on the fifth line of fixed odds betting at $10 for the group two Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie and will be tackling the feature with just one race under his belt.

However, there is no doubting the class he showed last season when winning three of his eight starts, particularly his win in the group two Avondale Guineas (2100m) at Ellerslie.

That day, he defeated Danzdanzdance and Vin De Dance while the beaten brigade included next-start Karaka 3YO Mile winner Scott Base (fourth) and Mongolianconqueror (seventh).

A fortnight later Vin De Dance, Mongolianconqueror and Danzdanzdance filled the first three placings in the group one New Zealand Derby (2400m), while On The Rocks found the distance a step too far when eighth.

On The Rocks also defeated the highly rated Demonetization (third) when winning the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial 3YO (1500m) at Ellerslie before the tables were turned when he finished third to him in the group two Auckland Guineas (1600m).

On The Rocks was given a welldeserved lengthy spell after the New Zealand Derby and trainers Mike Moroney and Pam Gerard have targeted the Rich Hill Mile.

“We gave him a long spell as he had a hard season. He’s only a pony and it was tough on him,” Gerard said.

“This will be a test for him. He raced against some good 3-year-olds last season but he’s never been up against a field [open-class] like this.

“But he’s down in the weights and he deserves his chance.”

Being on a rating of 79, On The Rocks slips into the Rich Hill Mile on the 52kg minimum and rider Jake Bayliss is wasting to make the weight.

“It’s Jake’s choice to ride him. He wanted to do it,” Gerard said. “He may be a half-kilo over, but he assures me he will do his best to do the weight. That’s confidence in their chances.”

After two trials in November, On The Rocks resumed with a close third behind The Mitigator (a rival again today) over 1500m at Ellerslie on December 8 and was to have another start leading into the Rich Hill Mile, but his trainers opted to withdraw the son of Alamosa from the Dunstan Feeds 1500 Championship Final (1500m) on Boxing Day.

“It was a heavy track and he had 60kg,” Gerard said. “He’s got a big long stride and he wants a good track.”