All signs pointing to Indikator
RACING TIMES Veteran Te Aroha galloper Indikator is poised for a hat-trick of Rotorua Cups, writes Aidan Rodley.
Te Aroha trainer Keith Opie says even being in the position to steel Indikator for his shot at three straight Rotorua Cup victories is rewarding enough.
But he would still love to seal the deal.
To get into this scenario, Indikator has claimed memorable wins in the past two Gr III Rotorua Cups (2200m), defeating Tinseltown by a neck to land the 2010 race, before running away to score by four lengths from Roi d’jeu last year.
Matamata jockey Reese Jones has been aboard for the past two years and retains the ride again tomorrow.
“It would mean a lot if we could win it again. He’s a great old horse and that would give us a lot of satisfaction,” Opie said yesterday.
“A lot of thought has gone into getting him there again. This race has been in the planning more or less since he won last year’s race.
“How long he had to go out and whathave-you – it’s all been planned around this one race.”
Indikator has raced three times in the leadup to the $70,000 feature, finishing worse than midfield in 1400m sprints at Te Rapa and Te Aroha before his last-start 10th-placing over 1600m at Te Rapa.
Each of those runs were on good or dead tracks and were designed at honing the Sandtrap eight-year-old gelding’s fitness ahead of the Rotorua Cup.
Tomorrow he goes up to a more suitable distance on a more favourable rain-affected track, the same conditions and venue in which he proved himself dominant in the past two runnings of the race.
“We don’t know if we did the right thing at Te Rapa, running him on a hard track. I guess we’re going to find out on Saturday,” said Opie, who trains in partnership with his son Gavin.
“His work on Tuesday suggests it hasn’t worried him and everything is right on target.
“We’re really happy with the horse and he looks a million dollars.
“He looks absolutely superb and his work is just as good as any other time. We’re absolutely thrilled to be in the position we’re in.”
Bred and raced by Peter Setchell, Indikator’s rating has remained the same despite his three failures in leadup races. He has been allotted 58.5kg to carry, the same weight as he won with last year.
Opie expected Indikator to again prove competitive but was wary of the lighter-weighted mares in the race – Postmans Daughter, Platinum Princess, Arcenciel, Fromelles and Precious Time.
“I don’t know whether he can beat the mares at the weights,” Opie said.
“They are in form and he’s out of form, though that’s mainly been through the firm tracks, and he has been making ground each time.
“All the up-and-comers will be hard to beat, but they’ve still got to do it.
“He’s already been there and done that.”
Indikator has drawn out in barrier 14 but Opie wasn’t concerned and said he would leave tactics to Jones.
“Reese knows him well. He runs for Reese,” Opie said.
“He’s going to get back to midfield but if we get more rain and the fence chops up, he’s going to better off three or four out.”
The TAB yesterday opened Indikator as a $7 second favourite, behind Postmans Daughter at $ 6.50.
Sum Up and Fromelles shared third favouritism at $ 8, with Intransigent at $ 8.50, Titch at $ 9 and Arcenciel and Precious Time at $12.
Opie said he had yet to formulate a programme for Indikator past the Rotorua Cup, but he had ruled out another Australian campaign.
“He’s staying in New Zealand. Every time we take him to Australia he strikes firm tracks. Unless he gets a wet track, he’s just below that Listed company in Australia,” Opie said.
Meanwhile, Cambridge mare Fleur de Lune has opened as a clear favourite for the Listed $ 50,000 Rotorua Stakes (1400m), a race in which she finished second last year.
That day, Fleur de Lune carried 9kg more than the winner Dowager Queen.
Bookmakers yesterday had her at $ 3.20, ahead of Acapela at $ 8, Gossiping at $ 9, and Magic Briar and Tale To Tell at $10.