Recite tunes up for Makfi Stakes

John Bary has been a major player in the Hawkes Bay Triple Crown in recent seasons and he has high hopes of leading from the front again.

The Hastings trainer has made the most of his home turf advantage with his former glamour galloper Jimmy Choux going as close as any in 2011 to a clean sweep of the features.

He finished runner-up to Mufhasa in the Makfi Challenge Stakes, before dominating the Windsor Park Plate and the Spring Classic.

Last year, Bary struck first blood with his former stable star Survived winning the Makfi and he also finished third in the Spring Classic.

This time around his early hopes will rest with the rising 4-year-old Recite. “The first two races definitely will fit in well for her and after that we’ll make a decision whether we step her up to 2000m for the last one,” Bary said.

Recite hasn’t raced since she was unplaced in the Queen of the Turf in Sydney and is now back in the stable, as is emerging stayer Miss Selby.

The New Zealand Oaks runner-up is likely to resume in a Rating 85 event on the first day of the Hastings carnival. “We might target the last leg [Spring Classic] with her – she’ll be having a light spring,” Bary said.

Spring plans have yet to be confirmed for Turn Me Loose, but Australia is uppermost in the minds of the rising 3-year-old’s connections. The lightly tried son of Iffraaj looks a potential top-line prospect after impressing in two runs this season.

“He’s still out spelling and we’ll have to decide in the next week or two what we’re going to do, but I wouldn’t mind taking him to Aussie, he’s owned in Melbourne,” said cotrainer Murray Baker, who prepares the gelding with Andrew Forsman.

Turn Me Loose was turned out after showing his class when he overcame a slow track to win at New Plymouth in May.

He had previously finished runnerup on debut at Te Rapa, where he sat three wide without cover and finished on powerfully after making the home turn awkwardly. “It was a massive run and he didn’t have any trials before he had run second,” Baker said.

Turn Me Loose is one of a big team of lightly raced or untried horses the Cambridge stable has on their books.

“We’ve got so many young ones that haven’t raced yet – we’ll have to try and find another Dundeel, but that might not happen again in my lifetime,” Baker said.

“He was such a top-class horse and his last 11 starts were all in Group Ones and he won five of them and the only time he was unplaced was in the Cox Plate.”