Unbeaten Miss Labasa sidelined by stone bruise
Trainer Bary aiming at Eulogy Stakes at Awapuni for return to racing of his talented filly Miss Labasa
Aniggling stone bruise prevented unbeaten Hastings filly Miss Labasa from contesting last Friday’s Group 3 $70,000 Wellington Guineas at Otaki but trainer John Bary is confident he will have her fully fit again for upcoming important 3-yearold races.
The stone bruise, which was causing the filly obvious discomfort on the eve of the Otaki feature, had still not burst out at the beginning of this week but he was hopeful she would be 100 per cent fit again by this weekend.
“At this stage the immediate aim is the Eulogy Stakes at Awapuni on Saturday week but we have just been waiting for the stone bruise to burst out,” Bary said.
“Hopefully it will clear up and they will allow me to give her a gallop between races at Waipukurau this Sunday.
“If she isn’t right by then, we might be able to gallop between races at Hastings the following Wednesday.
“The good thing about her is that she is naturally clean-winded anyway so she doesn’t need a lot of work to keep her fit.”
Miss Labasa is certainly an exciting 3-year-old and Bary has some big plans for her.
The Swiss Ace filly won her debut over 1400m at Tauherenikau in October by 31⁄ lengths and followed that 4 up with a game win over 1600m at Hastings on November 11.
“Hopefully she will get to the Eulogy and then the aim is the Eight Carat Stakes at Ellerslie on Boxing Day,” Bary said.
“We want to give her a run at Ellerslie as she is Karaka Millionnominated and that race is run there at the end of January.”
Bary said that providing Miss Labasa makes the right progress she will head to the Group 2 Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hastings in February and the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham in March.
Another well-performed galloper from the Bary stable, High Spirits, has also been sidelined by injury.
The Darci Brahma mare, winner of four races from 27 starts, was to have contested the New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton following an impressive victory over 2400m at Trentham.
But she got cast in her box and whacked a tendon in one of her legs.
“It wasn’t a tear or a hole and she was never really lame on it but there was obvious bruising there and so we decided to turn her out for a spell until Christmas time,” Bary said.
“It will mean that she won’t be ready for the Wellington Cup in January but we might be able to look at the Auckland Cup in March. It hasn’t been a great time for the stable but
Bimonthly award winners
Waipukurau couple Trevor and Debbie Walters are the recipients of the Kevin Woods Memorial bimonthly trophy for the months of September and October.
The award by the Hawke’s Bay Racehorse Owners Association will be presented at next Wednesday’s Hawke’s Bay meeting.
The couple own a 10 per cent share in the multiple Group 1 winner Melody Belle that is trained at Matamata by Jamie Richards.
The Commands 4-year-old won the first two legs of the Group 1 triple crown at the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival, the Tarzino Trophy (1400m) on September 1 and Windsor Park Plate (1600m) on September 22.
She has not raced since but was impressive when winning a 1000m Matamata trial on November 27 and is expected to resume racing in the Group 1 $200,000 Sistema Railway (1200m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.
Twilight race meeting
The final Hastings race day of the year will be a twilight meeting next Wednesday, with the first of eight races timed for 3.07pm and the last at 7.15pm.
It is a Christmas at the Races meeting and one not to be missed, with live entertainment, great food, exciting thoroughbred action and all the joys of Christmas.
The gates will be open from 2pm with a $10 gate charge and there will be a limited BYO for patrons on the public lawn.
Delay over revamped turn
The reconstructed home turn at Awapuni racecourse in Palmerston North will make a race-day return on March 1 next year, however, it is reliant on a satisfactory trial day in January.
Trials were held on Tuesday of last week, but a small section of the track did raise a slight concern for RACE Group tracks manager Kim Treweek.
“The majority of the new section raced really well (at the trials) but there was a 50m inside section, around the 600m, which was a bit softer and this created some inconsistencies,” Treweek said.
“Horses had been working around the turn for a number of weeks but we had 32mm of rain in the 48 hours before the trials and that showed that it needed a bit more time. We want everything to be 100 per cent before we commit to racing on it.”
As a result, the 2100m races scheduled for the Christmas meeting at Awapuni, including the Group 3 Manawatu Cup, will be extended to 2200m.
Close Up retired
The racing days are over for Close Up, the horse that motivated Shelley Hale back into training after a serious illness.
Close Up was scheduled to run in the Group 3 Eagle Technology Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie last Saturday, but instead he began his retirement on Hale’s property.
“He’s feeling the wear and tear on his fetlock joints so we’ve decided to retire him,” Hale said.
“He had a trial at Matamata last week and I was happy enough with his run (for third), but there was a bit of swelling afterward.
“It’s not as bad as we first thought, but we don’t want to risk racing him any more.”
Close Up credited Hale with her first Group 1 success when he won last year’s Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings in the hands of regular rider Grant Cooksley.
Either side of that win he had been runner-up, chasing Underthemoonlight home in the Group 2 Lisa Chittick Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa in the lead-up, then going down narrowly to Gingernuts in the Group 1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) at Hastings.
Close Up won 10 of his 34 starts and was placed on further 10 times.
Weatherley making hay
New Zealand apprentice Sam Weatherley is making every post a winner on Australian racetracks while he can.
“I don’t know how much longer I have left with my weight and height,” Weatherley said recently.
“It’d be good to make a career and a name for myself while I can.
“I don’t know how much growing I’ve got, if I can stay like I am then I’ll be all right. If I grow any more, we might have a couple of issues.”
Weight got the better of his father, Darryn, whose father, Dan, was also a jockey, and, like his dad, a career in training may also be in Sam’s future.
But, at the same time, the likes of Hugh Bowman and Tye Angland are taller than average and have — not without some weight battles — managed to carve long careers in the saddle.
Weatherley, 19, was a new addition to the Sydney riding ranks in June on a three-month loan with Chris Waller. He made such an impression he’s transferred over fulltime with an eye on winning a Sydney Champion Apprentice title to go with his two New Zealand awards.
In his first year of riding he won 67 races — 19 more than his nearest apprentice rival — while last season he racked up 66 winners at home including his first Group 1 on outsider Enzo’s Lad in the Telegraph Handicap at Trentham in January.
He rode eight winners from 43 rides at the end of 2017-18 in Sydney and has quickly established a healthy lead on his apprentice peers this season.