Conditions set to suit Nicoletta
Cambridge trainer Murray Baker is no fan of set weights and penalties racing but concedes that conditions ideally suit his Group Oneplaced mare Nicoletta in Saturday’s Windsor Park Stud Japan-New Zealand International Trophy (1600m) at Matamata.
The Lib Petagna-raced fouryear-old carries just 53.5kg under the race conditions, her halfkilogram penalty coming through her defeat of subsequent Group One winners Devise and Bonneval in last year’s Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham.
She finished third in last month’s Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa but that was a penalty-free performance even in New Zealand’s richest weight-forage contest.
‘‘She’s only got 53 1⁄2 kilos. I’m against set weights and penalties races but it throws her into it,’’ said Baker, who trains in partnership with Andrew Forsman.
Baker and Forsman go into the Racing Tauranga feature with a strong hand, with Coldplay and Highlad also set to take their places in the race.
Coldplay trialled at Taupo on Tuesday, defeating stablemate Get That Jive by three-quarters of a length in a 1200m heat.
‘‘She won nicely, as she should have, but it showed she’s going well,’’ Baker said.
‘‘Highlad hasn’t raced for a while and he’ll probably need the run but he needs to kick off again somewhere."
Sam Spratt rides Highlad, while Johnathan Parkes reunites with his Rich Hill Mile-winning mount Coldplay and premiership leading jockey Sam Collect pilots Nicoletta.
RICCARTON
Excelleration has made the most of her southern campaign and she may be in line to travel even further afield.
She was prepared at Pukekohe by Nigel Tiley to win the Listed Gore Guineas (1335) and the daughter of Exceed And Excel was then left in the care of Riccarton trainers Shane Kennedy and Anna Furlong to add the Listed Dunedin Guineas (1500m) to her record.
Excelleration finished runnerup last time out in the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m) and another bold showing in the Gr.3 Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) will bring a trip to Australia a step closer.
‘‘If she runs well on Saturday she’ll go on to the Warstep Stakes and if she won that we would look at a hit and run mission to Sydney,’’ co-breeder and part-owner Bill Gleeson, of Wellfield Lodge, said.
‘‘It’s all performance-based and against the older mares we’ll get a good line on her.’’
The race in Sydney under consideration is the Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 7.
‘‘They’re only three once and she is racing very well,’’ Gleeson said.
‘‘She’ll benefit from her last race, it was a month between runs and the track will suit her.’’
Excelleration will be ridden for the first time on Saturday by Rosie Myers.
‘‘The other thing in her favour is that she only has to carry 53kg,’’ Gleeson said.
‘‘It’s a step up in class, but there’s no reason why she won’t be very competitive if she’s at the top of her game and her work has suggested she is.’’
MASTERTON
Mark Oulaghan is expecting an improved showing from Shared Secrets on Sunday.
The Awapuni trainer has no worries about stepping the mare up in class in the Kuripuni Sports Bar & TAB Masterton Cup (2050m) off the back of an unplaced laststart performance in Rating 75 company.
‘‘She was a little bit disappointing, but she might have been in season,’’ Oulaghan said.
‘‘She was racing in tight quarters and didn’t like it – when she won a couple of starts before that she was three wide all the way.’’
Shared Secrets has pleased Oulaghan with her subsequent progress and has booked Alysha Collett for the ride on Sunday.
‘‘She’s a pretty good mare and she should go well,’’ he said.
SYDNEY
Chris Gibbs will be flying solo in Australia this weekend when Endowment opens his Sydney campaign in the Rosehill Guineas
(2000m).
The Ruakaka horseman has enjoyed a successful partnership with Donna Logan, who is now training in Singapore, and is officially operating in his own right.
‘‘Donna relinquished her New Zealand licence and it’s just taken time to all go through,’’ Gibbs said.
Endowment has settled in well to his new surroundings and a bold run in the Guineas will confirm a tilt at the Australian Derby
(2400m) in a fortnight’s time. ‘‘I’m very happy with him. He’s been eating and drinking well so there’s no excuses on those scores,’’ Gibbs said.
‘‘He’s very bright and we’ll see if he’s good enough. I’d rather have had a better draw than 19, but we have to cop that I guess.’’
The lightly-raced son of Savabeel booked his trip across the Tasman with a solid run for fifth from another wide gate in the New Zealand Derby (2400m) off the back of an unplaced run in the Gr.2 Avondale Guineas (2100m).
‘‘It was an exceptionally good run in the Derby after he copped a sticky track in the Guineas,’’ Gibbs said.