Ardrossan ready for rich sprint
Stallion’s prospects at top level seemed remote last year
Ardrossan has got hearts aflutter. Adored by his connections, the Redoute’s Choice fouryear-old stallion will shoot for Group One success in tomorrow’s BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa.
He showed he was worthy of a crack at the weight-for-age feature with a brilliant win in the Gr.3 Concorde Handicap (1200m) at Ellerslie on Karaka Million night last month, his fourth win in as many starts in New Zealand.
However, the prospect of Ardrossan racing in top level company seemed remote when he returned from a failed stint with Melbourne trainer Mick Price last September, unplaced in three starts and diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.
Speaking to Trackside after the Concorde win, part-owner Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick said: “He came back with a few heart problems. Chris Phillips, our vet, has done a wonderful job with him. It’s early days yet but it certainly looks like he’s going to get back to his best. Chris left no stone unturned. He went worldwide to find the best treatment he could.”
Having consulted with cardiology experts from England and the United States, Phillips began a course of treatment that involved oral therapy and repeat electrocardiography (ECG) and blood tests.
“It was a problem that had no quick-fix like for example a fibrillation. We were told the prognosis was only 50-50 that he would ever race at the top level again based on the ECG reports,” said Phillips, who gave credit to Waikato Stud pretrainer Sam McLeish for efforts in getting Ardrossan back to full fitness during that period.
Working on the treadmill at Waikato Stud, Ardrossan could be monitored and Phillips found his heart had repaired and his heartbeat was normal again, a diagnosis backed up by clean ECG and blood tests.
Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh was rapt to get Ardrossan back in the stable and in the buildup to the BCD Group Sprint said it was as though there had never been any issue with the horse.
“He’s perfect. He’s got no issues at all. He’s happy as and his work has been brilliant. He’s as sound as you could get any horse and an absolute pleasure to do anything with.
“He wanders onto the track each morning, does whatever time you want him to run, then wanders back home, eats, sleeps and waits to do it all again the next morning. Before the Concorde, all those horses were jigjogging about but he just walked onto the track with his head down, as composed as anything.
“He’s a beautiful entire. A stable full of him and you couldn’t go wrong.”
Marsh accepted that tomorrow’s BCD Group Sprint was a step up from the Concorde, run under handicap with Ardrossan carrying the 53kg minimum, but expected his charge to measure up.
“It’s definitely a step up at weightfor-age against those more seasoned campaigners but we expect him to foot it with them. I wouldn’t swap him for any other horse in the race.”
Marsh said he and jockey Jason Waddell wouldn’t waver from plans to race on speed, though he wasn’t sure if Ardrossan would lead with stablemate Ugo Foscolo in the field.
“Ugo’s good. He could jump, lead and, with the rail out 5m on Saturday, prove hard to run down. We’ve seen it at Te Rapa before,” Marsh said.
Ardrossan is the TAB’s $5 third favourite for the BCD Group Sprint behind Melody Belle at $2.90 and Volpe Veloce at $4, with Ugo Foscolo a $71 rank outsider.
Marsh has eight runners at Te Rapa tomorrow, including Crown Prosecutor in the Gr.2 Waikato Guineas (2000m) and Kiwianna in the Gr.2 Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m).
He expected last-start Tauranga winner Tightlign to run well in the last race and was looking for a bold run from last-start Dunstan Feeds Stayers Championship Final winner Starrybeel to confirm an Australian campaign.
● Trainer Nick Bishara is confident his progressive four-year-old stayer Verry Flash will put in a good performance in the Rating 82 Risk Management Group Premier (2100m) at Te Rapa tomorrow as he heads towards loftier targets.
The full brother to Verry Elleegant finished fifth at Counties last start, his third run of the current campaign, and he will again be ridden by Rowena Smyth tomorrow.
“We’re very happy with him,” Bishara said. “We took him out and galloped him with one of Nigel Tiley’s on Tuesday morning, just to bring him on a bit.”
“It’s taken all three runs to get him fit and ready to run 2100m. I thought he just peaked on his run a bit at Counties and that’s brought him on plenty. We’re pretty confident he’ll go a big race on Saturday.”
Bishara said the rating 77 galloper was on a programme aimed at the Gr.1 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m) on March 9.
“He’s in the Auckland Cup,” Bishara said.
“Safely through Saturday we’ll probably look at the race at Matamata, the Kaimai Stakes (Listed, 2000m), or the Nathans Memorial (2200m) on the first day at Ellerslie.
“Those are the two options at this stage.
“It’s probably more than likely he won’t back him up in the Avondale Cup (Gr.2, 2400m) even if he wins.
“We’ll just play it by ear, but he’ll be in the Auckland Cup on four or five runs so he should be pretty much spot on.”