Top pair hunting for more victories
Lisa Allpress will combine with John Sargent again this weekend, in search of more feature wins.
Allpress won the Trentham Gold Cup on the Sargent-trained Fromelles on Saturday and will ride stablemates Kasumi and Marechal in black-type races over Queen’s Birthday weekend.
Three-year-old Kasumi will tackle the $ 50,000 weight-for-age Challenge Stakes (1600m) at Whanganui on Saturday and two-year-old Marechal will tackle the $ 50,000 Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Waverley next Monday.
Kasumi has returned to New Zealand following three creditable runs in stakes company in South Australia.
The Shinko King filly ran fourth in the Listed Port Adelaide Guineas (1800m), fifth in the Gr I Australasian Oaks (2000m) and fifth in the Listed Laelia Stakes (1600m) on May 12.
Sargent had planned to spell Kasumi when she returned home but the filly has done so well there has been a change of plans.
“She looks magnificent and still has a summer coat,” Sargent said yesterday.
“She will have one gallop this week and should be bang on for Whanganui. She wouldn’t want a bottomless track but can handle wet ground and will come in nicely at weight-for-age.
“She went good races in Adelaide and the opposition over there was better than a lot of people realise. The filly that won the Oaks [Invest] has since won the Doomben Roses in Brisbane.”
Kasumi, who has won two Listed races and finished sixth in the 1000 Guineas, won a Rating 75 1400m at Waverley before going to Adelaide.
Marechal, a General Nediym filly, has had a break since being unplaced in the Karaka Million and Gr II Matamata Breeders’ Stakes.
She had earlier finished fourth in the Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie and won at Otaki in November, beating Reais and Twilight Grainta.
“She’s a nice filly and up to a race like this [Castletown],” Sargent said.
Marechal will be joined in the Castletown by stablemate Snow Line, who will be ridden by Matt Cameron.
Snow Line has had only three starts and won on a slow track at Waipa last week, after running second on a heavy track at Matamata at her previous attempt. Killa Question, a runaway winner of the juvenile at Trentham on Saturday for Matamata trainer Paul Shailer, will also tackle the Castletown.
Killa Question, who is raced by Rich Hill Stud, has had a busy season, with 11 starts, but handles wet ground well and has now won twice.
“He’s limited and he’s not going to grow but he’s a little professional and will keep going,” Shailer said.
“We just want a wet track for the Castletown.”
Shailer, who spent a decade with leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller, the last four years as foreman, has been satisfied with his eight wins in what is his first full season as a trainer.
“I’m working about 20 at the moment and had 30 to 35 in work at one stage. Most of them are young horses and I’m enjoying it. But I want more [horses]. I would have 100 in work if I could. I had 10 years in Sydney and wanted to come home to train. I missed New Zealand and it was going to be hard [to set up as a trainer] no matter where you were based.”
Allpress made it three wins from four rides on Fromelles when the Savabeel mare comfortably won the $40,000 Trentham Cup (2100m).
Fromelles had won the Rotorua Cup for Allpress at her previous start and Allpress was the rider when the mare won a Rating 75 1600m at Trentham in March.
Fromelles has risen rapidly in the rat- ings as a result of her winning run, rising 23 rating points since March 17 and will be penalised further for Saturday’s win.
On the other hand, her Gr III win at Rotorua significantly enhanced her value as a broodmare and she has earned $78,000 in stakes over the same period.
Sargent was disappointed with Choice Bro’s effort for sixth, beaten four lengths, in Brisbane on Saturday.
“He had a lovely run in transit and it was just a run. He’s come through it well but is better than that.
“It might be that being a colt, he is starting to think a bit and we will probably change some things around with his work and gear.”
Stablemate Quintessential is equal favourite for next weekend’s Queensland Oaks. Quintessential, who ran third in the New Zealand Oaks, has run fourth in two group races in Brisbane, after drawing wide both times.
“She needs a draw, so she can settle midfield, rather than have to go back to last,” Sargent said.
Sargent will run Shanghai Bund and Largo Da Barra at Doomben tomorrow, with the latter attempting to earn a Queensland Derby start.