Saturday’s Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) brings together four of the six winners of two-year-old races in the North Island so far this season, and Cambridge trainer Tony Pike is hoping to see his runaway debut winner Poetic Champion rise to the occasion in the star-studded Pukekohe clash.
Racing in the colours of owner-breeder Jonathan Munz’s GSA Bloodstock, the son of Super Seth romped to a spectacular victory by six and a quarter lengths at Hawera in early October to become the first winner for Waikato Stud stallion Super Seth.
Poetic Champion had previously won a Cambridge trial with similar ease in early September, and Pike has since sent him back to the trials for a comfortable half-length victory at Waipa on November 13.
“It was a very good performance on debut,” Pike said. “He was coming into that race with just one three-horse trial on the synthetic under his belt, but he couldn’t really have been any more impressive.
“He had a fortnight off after that race and has built back up nicely. We thought we’d give him a trial right-handed at Waipa to give him a bit of experience that way around. He won his trial well and ran good time that day.
“He’s a lovely two-year-old that we’ve got a lot of time for, and we’re really looking forward to Saturday.”
On Friday the TAB rated Poetic Champion a $2.40 chance for the Counties Challenge Stakes, sharing favouritism with Savaglee, who was a four-length winner at Trentham in his only previous start.
Velocious is the $5 third favourite on the strength of her recent debut win at Te Rapa, while the $7 fourth favourite is Bellatrix Star, who won the season-opening juvenile race at Wanganui before a last-start third placing.
There is a strikingly similar market for the TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie in late January, where Savaglee is the $5 favourite, Poetic Champion and Velocious share second favouritism at $7 and Bellatrix Star is at $12..” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk.
