Manawatu Cup quest for Clarify

A change of tack has Awapuni the immediate focus for the in-form stayer Clarify.

Matamata trainer Peter McKay had originally targeted Ellerslie as the Savabeel gelding’s next port of call until the focus switched to today’s Manawatu Cup (2100m).

“His work has been exceptional and we were going straight to the Dunstan Feeds Final on New Year’s Day, but I said to [owner] Joe Smithies that we’d have a crack at this race,” McKay said.

“He’s down in the weights and the field isn’t that strong.”

The Dunstan Feeds Championship Final (2200m) on the last day of the Auckland carnival is still on Clarify’s radar, although victory today would change that. “He’s raced a week apart before so we can still go to Ellerslie,” McKay said.

“If we win though, we’ll take him out of the Dunstan and I wouldn’t be disappointed to be doing that.”

Clarify won for the fourth time in his career when successful last time out over 2100m at Ellerslie.

McKay will also be represented at Awapuni by Karaka Million (1200m), hope Cassius Clay in the NZ Bakels

2YO Premier (1100m) and the black type performer Barcelo in the Property Brokers Premier (1200m).

The latter showed encouraging form as a 3-year-old with a second placing in the Trevor Eagle Memorial (1500m) and a close fifth in the Gr.2 Sarten Memorial (1400m) behind the subsequent G1 winner Ugo Foscolo.

● Matthew Eales will experience a feeling of dj vu today if he wins the

2-year-old event.

The local trainer has first-starters Atenartin and Derecho in the NZ Bakels 2YO Premier (1100m) at Awapuni.

“I won this race eight years ago with Miss Marauder and that was enough to get her into the Karaka Million,” he said.

“If either of these two win then it should get them in and it’s hard to pass up the opportunity.”