Trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood are confident their promising filly Prowess can make a winning start to her spring preparation at Cambridge on Wednesday.
The daughter of Proisir won on debut in her only two-year-old outing in April and will have her first hit-out of her three-year-old season on her home track in the Cambridge Equine Hospital (1300m).
She won her trial on the synthetic surface last month and her trainers resisted the urge to trek south to Hastings last weekend to contest the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m).
“We are happy enough with her,” James said.
“I had intended running her on Saturday in the fillies race but she didn’t need to be having a trip down there and run on a bottomless track at the start of her preparation.
“She trialled up well on the poly (last month) and all the indications are good.”
James has big hopes for the filly he purchased out of Hallmark Stud’s 2021 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft for $230,000, but he is keeping his excitement in check for now.
“I would like to get her to some black-type races and see if she is good enough, but we will take one step at a time,” he said.
The Cambridge conditioners will contest the same race on Wednesday with Deep Beauty.
“He always goes bold first-up, so he will go a race no matter what,” James said.
Meanwhile, the stable’s Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Pinarello is set to head to Sydney this weekend.
“He jumps on a plane on Saturday night and heads to Sydney. First-up is the Shannon Stakes (Gr.2) over 1500m on Saturday-week and we will take it from there,” James said.
James is also excited about the spring prospects of Group performer Achieve, who pleased when runner-up in her trial at Matamata last week.
“She trialled up exceptionally well and she will probably head to a rating race at Waikato fresh-up and we might get excited after that,” he said.
James will also be chasing more black-type with Group Three winner Cheaperthandivorce.
“We are probably going to go to the fillies and mares race at Hawera (Gr.3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes, 1400m) with her, the same day is the Matamata Cup (Listed, 1600m), so she will head to one of those two,” he said. – NZ Racing Desk
