Roccia may rock the boat or sparkle like a diamond in Marton Cup
Whether talented mare Roccia is the horse to beat in today’s Marton Cup depends on what version of her turns up for the meeting.
The enigmatic stayer is the $6 equal favourite for the $80,000 Cup at Hastings, the biggest race on a weekend that could be described as the calm between two storms after the dramas of Pukekohe in the last 11 days and the huge carnivals almost every weekend for the next two months.
The Cup brings together proven stayers such as Uareastar, who won the Auckland Cup two years ago, against mostly handy lower grade stayers who get the advantage of only having to carry 53kg, often the golden weight in our better staying races.
Plenty get that luxury today, with Roccia, Canheroc and Never Look Back, but the Roccia of two or three starts back would be the one to beat.
For punters, that may mean ignoring her second-last of 14 in the Stayers’ Final on Boxing Day.
Roccia didn’t have a lot go right that day and was clearly outpointed by Canheroc who finished third, that form franked when winner Trust In You won the QEII Cup six days later.
But in her two starts before that, Roccia was way too good for Canheroc, so represents value today if she has her mind on the job.
“She can be a funny horse to predict,” says co-trainer Roger James. “She likes things her own way a bit but Warren [Kennedy] gets on well with her, so we think she’ll bounce back.”
Canheroc has hit career-best form and had no luck in the stronger Waikato Cup two starts ago, so appeals as a cover bet for those who like the lightweight theory but don’t totally trust Roccia.
The two other features at Hastings are an even open 1400m, while the 3-year-old race (R4) has several with black type aspirations over the summer, with Roccia’s stablemate Sudbina having the best stakes form but worst draw.
Young guns return
Two of New Zealand’s more promising young jockeys are returning home tomorrow to further boost the local riding ranks.
Wiremu Pinn and partner Tayla Mitchell have been based in Melbourne this season.
But while Pinn has had good support, Mitchell, who won the New Zealand apprentice premiership, has struggled to get her licence to race ride in Victoria.
“Tayla still really wants to ride and I want to support that, so we made the decision together to move home,” Pinn told the Weekend Herald.
“We come back on Sunday and will be based in Cambridge, with Chris McNab booking my rides. I’m available from the Matamata meeting on Wednesday, while Tayla will have some trials rides and then be back.”
The pair add further depth to the northern jockeys’ ranks which were getting thin a couple of years ago because of retirements or others moving to Australia but have been enormously bolstered by the arrival of Kennedy, Joe Doyle and a handful of other overseas jockeys alongside the established Kiwi stars.