Class mares to make summer return
SUMMER racing in New Zealand will be enriched by the return of class mares Pondarosa Miss and In Style from Australia.
They are due home from Melbourne this week with In Style launching directly into domestic action while Pondarosa Miss will undergo remedial work before her return to the track.
Campaigns in Victoria came up empty for both horses but connections are hopeful of better luck over summer.
In Style has an appointment with the race that alerted one and all to her undoubted talent last year.
Off the back of a win in the Listed Counties Bowl the Fast ‘N’ Famous mare franked her form at 11-1 odds by soundly beating hot favourite Ryan Mark in the traditional Railway Stakes lead-in the Group III Concorde Handicap. She went on to win the Railway, beating Whosyourmaster and Durham Town.
An injury in the Telegraph Handicap forced a long spell and the abandonment of the middle day of the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival in September left connections with limited options.
The decision was made to send her to Mike Moroney at Flemington where luck deserted her.
She missed the start first-up and second-up ran a good fifth in a strong Sandown field. Once again, lack of suitable races prompted her return home to original trainer Danica Guy at Matamata.
‘‘There’s not a lot for her in Aussie in the next little while so she will come home and follow the same races as last year,’’ Guy said.
‘‘It’s only nine days to the Concorde from when she lands on Thursday but Mike [Moroney] reports she is happy and well and she will be fit enough so hopefully we can get her there. Obviously we will see how she is before we make a solid plan but the Concorde into the Railway is what we are thinking.’’
Guy’s other outstanding speedster Tomorrowland has more immediate plans in the Listed Levin Stakes at Otaki on Friday. ‘‘He’s working great and he can be forgiven his last start failure when he went too hard early.
Guy has her talented 3-year-old filly Capella back in the stable after a three week break and has a longterm plan to have her run in the Group I New Zealand Oaks in March. ‘‘I can’t believe the weight she has piled on, she’s done really well,’’ Guy said. ‘‘The break came at exactly the right time with beautiful lush grass in abundance and she looks terrific. ‘‘I don’t know if she will be ready to race by Christmas but we will take our time and she should have a good campaign.’’
Pondarosa Miss will go under the hammer – not the auctioneer’s hammer but that of practitioner Tommy Behrns. The equine chiropractor renowned as the Hammer Man through the use of rubber mallets to rectify problems in horses will visit Pondarosa Miss on her return.
‘‘Something hasn’t been quite right since she had that nasty accident at Hastings,’’ trainer and partowner Peter Hollinshead said. ‘‘She’s tended to want to lug one way and it affected her performances in Melbourne so we will see what Tommy can do and make some fresh plans when we see how she does.’’