Collett hopes to snare first group one victory
Former champion New Zealand apprentice Jason Collett has designs on a successful group one homecoming today.
The 25- year- old will chase his first success at the highest level when he teams up with the Stephen Ramsay and Julia Ritchie- trained Rasa Lila in the Windsor Park Plate.
“I’ve had four group one seconds so it would be great to get one,” Collett said. “She looks like she’s going to be a good chance. I had a look at her form and she was impressive at the latter end of her last preparation.”
Collett said he accepted the ride on Rasa Lila, extended by owner Sir Peter Vela’s Director of Racing Lee Freedman, after an injury to one of his regular Sydney rides.
“I had a filly called Honesty Prevails who I was going to ride in the Flight Stakes, but in the first race of the Princess series she had a problem with her knee so she’s gone out.
“I didn’t have any strong commitments this weekend in Sydney so I accepted the offer.”
Collett will also be aboard Rasa Lila’s stablemate Silver Eclipse in the L I Redshaw Memorial and Graham Richardson’s Babe in the Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes.
His first ride will be Boxachocolates for Mike Breslin in the Stella Artois 1400 and his book is completed by the John Wheeler- trained Pentathlon in the Insurance Brokers 2000.
Collett served much of his time with his father Richard at Pukekohe before he won a scholarship for a stint in Sydney in 2011 with leading trainer Chris Waller.
He returned home to be the champion apprentice of the 2011- 12 season, but had made enough of an impression on Waller to be lured back for another spell and Collett is now firmly established in the senior riding ranks there.
When a horse has wings, you have to let them fly.
That's the philosophy North Canterbury trainers John and Karen Parsons are adopting with exciting 3- year- old filly Starvoia.
The daughter of Starcraft i s unbeaten in t wo starts and gets her chance in stakes company for the first time in the NZ Bloodstock Canterbury Belle Stakes ( 1200m) at Riccarton today.
“What will be, will be, but we couldn't be any happier with our horse,” Karen Parsons said ahead of the 3- year- old fillies feature.
Starvoia's wins, at Riccarton last month on a heavy track and at the same venue earlier this month on a dead track, are reason enough for Parsons to mention the filly in the same sentence as her three- time group one winner Final Touch when the topic comes to whether she will see out a strong 1600m for the NZ 1000 Guineas at Riccarton in November.
“Her pedigree might not say she'd get 1600m but it was the same with Final Touch and it used to irk me when people would say ‘ don't you know she's by Kashani’? It's the same with this filly. She should get 1600m but you just don't know. The good thing is she can't read her own pedigree.”