Lions coach tracking well at the races
Lions coach Warren Gatland has unleashed an intriguing debutante from left field just days before the first test against the All Blacks.
Azaboy, a two-year-old gelding, will not be on the team sheet at Eden Park on Saturday but he has given Gatland a minor victory over the All Blacks. Kind of.
Azaboy ran third in the NZB Insurance Pearl Series two-yearold (1200m) race at Pukekohe Park yesterday but did beat home the fourth placed Anahera Lass, who is part-owned by All Blacks icon Sir Colin Meads, in a field of just five runners.
Azaboy probably went wide too early before asserting dominance up front and was getting tired before the final whistle but Gatland and his co-owners Henry Wilcox and Terry Shaw (Gatland’s father-in-law) have plenty to work with.
Truth be told it will Azaboy’s trainer Richard Collett doing the work but Gatland should be able to enjoy a victory or two in the future.
Gatland’s charge was initially set to make his debut at Ellerslie earlier this month, so the Lions coach could be on course to see him in the flesh but connections were too late registering its name. Alysha Collett and Azaboy’ were caught three wide for most of the race on an unsuitable heavy track at Pukekohe but still battled away for third, six and a quarter lengths behind Contessa Vanessa.
Gatland, Shaw and Wilcox also bred Azaboy, an Azamour gelding out of Cataari.
The trio tasted success early in the season with Collett when the Pukekohe trainer produced Son Taari for a victory in a maiden race at Avondale last August.
Rebecca Goldsbury is broadening her racing horizons in Australia.
The New Zealand apprentice accepted an offer from Queensland’s leading provincial trainer Ben Currie to further her riding race winner experience.
“I got here on Sunday and I’ll be staying for three weeks and I’m really looking forward to it,” Goldsbury said.
“I rode at the jump-outs on Tuesday morning and I’ve got six rides at Toowoomba on Saturday night, five of them for Ben.”
The Queensland opportunity was extended to Goldsbury on the word of former Te Awamutu apprentice Josh Oliver, who ended his time with the Currie operation.
“Josh has finished his apprenticeship and he mentioned my name to the stable,” she said.
“They watched me ride at a meeting in New Zealand and then asked me to come on over.”
The 24-year-old began her career as an amateur rider and rode her first winner aboard King Of Rock at Hastings in May, 2013.
Shantav is proving to be a good advertisement for the conditioning skills of Barbara Verlinden.
The five-year-old is the first horse the Wingatui horsewoman has trained and he has responded to her approach with two wins and six placings.
‘‘This is my first full season as a trainer,’’ Verlinden said. ‘‘The horse was with Steve Tyler and I was his track rider at the time.
‘‘He seems to like the environment here and we can work him on the farm and at the beach to keep him happy.’’
Shantav was successful on his home track last time out and he will attempt consecutive wins when he steps out in the Easy Made Marmalade Handicap at Oamaru today. He will be ridden by Courtney Barnes.
‘‘He’s working and eating well,’’ Verlinden said. ‘‘We can’t race him too often as he goes off his feed so we have to walk a fine line.’’