Champagne for Prom Queen
Dashing juvenile filly Prom Queen has made her mark at Riccarton this season and her connections are keen on a Group One return to the South Island’s principal track next term.
She is unbeaten in four appearances on the Christchurch course, including the Listed Welcome Stakes and co-trainer Kenny Rae sees no reason why she won’t cope with a mile as a three-year-old in the New Zealand 1000 Guineas.
‘‘She’s got a lot of improvement in her and I’ve said all along the Guineas will be the target for her,’’ said Rae, who prepares the youngster with his wife Lisa and their daughter Krystal Williams.
‘‘We never have to slow her down in her work and she goes along at whatever speed you want.
‘‘She’s got a five-year-old’s attitude – she doesn’t care about anything.’’
Prom Queen first preparation is almost certain to conclude with an appearance in the Champagne Stakes, again at Riccarton today.
‘‘I’ll probably give her a spell after that. People have said go to Australia and if she won very impressively we may think about that, but I don’t want to be greedy,’’ Rae said.
Beaten only once in five starts, the daughter of Super Easy gave her rivals a thumping at her most recent start.
‘‘She may have beaten only small fields but it takes a good horse to win by nine and a half lengths. I was speechless after that,’’ Rae said.
‘‘She’s really smart and I don’t know how good she really is yet.
‘‘She’s only 14 hands, she’s a midget and there’s still improvement to come.’’
Meanwhile, Ringo will contest the Great Easter Stakes (1400m) at Riccarton today as part of Awapuni trainer Mike Breslin’s master plan to secure the horse an elite-level win at Hastings next spring.
‘‘He’s only having a very light autumn campaign,’’ Breslin said.
‘‘He’s a seven-year-old and we didn’t want to leave him out of work for three months.
‘‘If we did that, he’d take too long to come back up at his age and with his size.
‘‘He’ll have this one at Riccarton on Saturday and then go to the weight-for-age race at Wanganui – the Ag Challenge Stakes on June 3] – and then go out again.
‘‘‘Hopefully, he’ll tell us whether he’s good enough to target the Hawke’s Bay weight-for-age races.
‘‘If not, he can target the Group Three sprint that he won there last year.’’
Ringo has won eight of his 33 starts and preceded his Captain Cook Stakes placing at Trentham last December with his second successive runner-up finish in the Coupland’s Bakeries Mile at Riccarton.
He returns to Riccarton for the Great Easter Stakes, in which Hayden Tinsley takes the ride at 59kg.
‘‘He’s only lightly tried and he should get conditions to suit with a slow track,’’ Breslin said.
‘‘He’s over 600 kilos when he’s racing and around 640 kilos when he first comes back into work.
‘‘He can get away with one run on top of the ground but then it gets progressively harder for him on good tracks.
‘‘He’s capable of winning a Group One when everything lines up in his favour.
‘‘That is a slow track and him feeling 100 per cent.’’