KAREN PARSONS COOKS UP BIG WIN WITH FINAL TOUCH AT TRENTHAM
KAREN PARSONS deserved all the credit at Trentham yesterday.
The successful South Island horsewoman featured as the owner, breeder and trainer of Captain Cook Stakes winner Final Touch.
The only others who shared in the spoils of a Group One win were her training partner and husband, John, and rider Chris Johnson.
‘‘It is good to breed a Group One winner,’’ Karen said.
Training GI winners is not a new experience for the Parsons partnership, who have also won at the highest level with Seamist and Diablo Girl, while Megapins won a Wellington Cup.
Karen has been campaigning four horses – Final Touch, Arietta, Santos and Asavant – in the North Island, but was starting to think her luck was out.
Final Touch had had a rocky run when fourth in the Group Two Auckland Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe at her previous start, and it seemed initially that there had been no change of fortune for the stable yesterday.
Arietta had been favourite for the rating 85 1400m, the race before the Captain Cook, but was a late scratching after suffering a gash above her eye in the starting gates.
‘‘I was gutted and thought – no, luck has deserted us,’’ Parsons said.
But the smiles returned when Final Touch, who was last early, swept past Mufhasa inside the last 200m to win the $200,000 Captain Cook (1600m) going away by 11⁄ lengths.
Final Touch, a five-year-old by Kashani, has been a prolific winner, with 14 wins from 35 starts and has now earned more than $350,000.
She has been competing in good company since her three-year-old season, but has taken her form to another level in her current campaign, with four wins, a second and two fourths from her seven starts this season.
She had been a convincing winner of the Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes (1400m), at Riccarton at the New Zealand Cup meeting, and with better luck in the running would have been right in contention at Pukekohe.
She had produced respectable efforts when fifth in the Anniversary Handicap and sixth in the GI Thorndon Mile at Trentham last summer, but had had an interrupted preparation.
‘‘She was hurt after winning the Timaru Cup and had missed some work,’’ Parsons explained. ‘‘She also had a virus as a three-year-old, but nothing has gone wrong this preparation.’’ Final Touch won comfortably yesterday for her 48-yearold rider. ‘‘I could see Mufhasa had a good break and I thought he was going to take a bit of running down, but we got to him a wee way off the line,’’ Johnson said.
Mufhasa dead-heated for second with Lady Kipling, with Mufhasa’s trainer, Stephen McKee, disappointed that rider Sam Spratt had not held Mufhasa up for longer in the straight. ‘‘He needs to be held up over a mile, she went too soon,’’ McKee said.
Lady Kipling, who was three-wide early, fought bravely, with Lady Chaparral a creditable fourth.
Veyron, the $2 favourite, finished fifth, beaten four lengths. Veyron was three-wide, but had cover for much of the way, and did not show his customary fight.
‘‘He never kicked on much,’’ rider Rogan Norvall said. ‘‘He normally gives me more than that. It’s the first time he’s ever been disappointing.’’