High hopes for this weekend
Leading hopes for the Trentham feature meeting this weekend were on show at the Foxton trials yesterday.
Mary Louise, is currently at a $5.50 price with TAB for the Wellington Cup, contested a 1400m trial, while her stablemate Puntura, who is at $5.50 for the Thorndon Mile, comfortably won a 1200m Open heat earlier that morning.
Both horses are trained in Taranaki by Robbie Patterson, who could have struck a winning formula.
He has trialled Puntura the week of a big race before, with success.
“I’ve trialled him over 1200m four days out leading into the Thorndon Mile this week, similar to what we did before his last run in the Manawatu¯
Challenge Stakes, so hopefully it pays off again,” he said.
Patterson said “Sting” - as the horse was called around the stable - was still a little bit fat, but nothing the trial and a bit more work wouldn’t fix.
“Coming through the Thorndon, he’ll race in the Taranaki Cup, as the owners would love to win that race,” he said.
Patterson was also thrilled with the trial of Mary Louise who was expected to go a big race in the Wellington Cup, while another stable runner One Bold Cat finished third in the same trial and will target the Herbie Dyke Stakes.
Mary Louise was ridden quietly in her trial by Lemmy Douglas, who didn’t move a muscle as the mare cruised into second place behind local cup hope Never Look Back, who could be the dark horse in the timehonoured. Never Look Back, who is at odds of 18-to-one, is trained at Foxton by Gail Temperton and was ridden in the trial by his raceday jockey Leah Hemi, who gets on well with the horse. Hemi was aboard in Never Look Back’s last start third in the Marton Cup on January 6, had ridden the horse three times for two wins and a third, including a win in the Waipukurau Cup in November.
Never Look Back boasts a staying pedigree, being by Melbourne Cup winner Shocking from a Johar mare, and branching off from there is a maternal sire list that includes stallions Grosvenor, Sovereign Edition, Without Fear and Le Filou, in that order.