Taupo fourth meeting canned this month
Thoroughbred racing has been hit with yet another abandonment – this time at Taupo on Easter Monday.
The decision to abandon came after the third race after a number of horses slipped during the running.
The track had been rated a Dead 5 for the first two races, but after showers the rating was changed to a Slow 7 for the third race.
There have been a large number of abandonments this season, including four this month, while Te Aroha’s big Group I meeting on April 7 was transferred to Te Rapa because the Te Aroha track was in poor condition.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing will be reviewing the Taupo abandonment, which is sure to raise the ire of trainers as the the track was already well in the Dead range before the showers hit.
Before the abandonment, quality filly Honey Rider showed he was in the right order to chase down her second Group III victory for the season, NZ Racing Desk reports.
The daughter of Pins looked to be in for a soft kill in Monday’s Auto Cheap Taupo 1300 and so it proved ahead of a sterner test at Te Rapa on Saturday week.
‘‘She did that easily enough and she’ll go to the Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes now,’’ said Murray Baker, who trains in partnership with Andrew Forsman.
‘‘She’s had a bit of a freshen up and she was ready to go again.’’ The winner of the Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings in the spring, Honey Rider was caught three wide in a small field at Taupo before rider Michael Coleman allowed her to slide forward outside the leader.
Honey Rider was in charge at the top of the straight and she strode clear to inflict a first defeat on Alamosa Express.
‘‘She’s pretty good when she’s right and she looked to be waiting for the others a bit,’’ Baker said.
He also confirmed that their last-start New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes winner Charmont would return to action on April 29.
‘‘She’s going to run in the Travis Stakes at Te Rapa, but I’m not sure about things after that,’’ Baker said.
Charmont had won the Listed Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes in February for breeder-owner Bob Emery breaking through at the highest level in the Te Aroha feature.