A week after the pick of the eligible crop did battle in the Listed Karaka Millions (1200m), a second wave of quality juveniles are set to line up at Ellerslie in Saturday’s Gr.3 Colin Jillings Classic (1200m).
The field is headed by Harvey Wallbanger, whose two starts at Ellerslie have produced a debut win in October and second place in the Gr. 2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m) on New Year’s Day. In between those two races the Tony Pike-trained gelding finished second in the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes at Pukekohe in late November.
Pike admitted to some relief when Saturday’s Ellerslie fields were released and Harvey Wallbanger came up with barrier two. After jumping from an outside draw in the Eclipse Stakes he was ridden from the rear and in his previous start he also had to make his run wide from last.
“Thankfully he’s got a draw that will allow him to be ridden where we want,” Pike said.
“His last two runs have been a hard watch coming wide from the back like he did and getting beaten by horses that had cosy runs.
“He had a week off after the Eclipse and he’s come back well, so with a bit of luck from gate two we should see him put in the race.
“Rory (Hutchings) came over to gallop him on Tuesday morning and he worked well, so he’s ready.”
Another good effort from the Wentwood Grange homebred son of Home Affairs will confirm plans to return to Ellerslie on Champions Day for the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m). He has also been entered for the Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Trentham in late March.
Pike has a busy couple of days ahead with sizeable representation at Ellerslie as well at Te Rapa on Friday and a single runner on the Wellington Cup card.
“Harvey Wallbanger looks like our best at Ellerslie, but the two in the Rating 75 1600 are good chances too,” he said. “Awatere was impressive winning a Rating 65 last time and I’m confident he can make the step up, and Delz Abeel should enjoy the step up in distance after racing well in sprints.
“We’ve got a group of in-form maidens running at Te Rapa and any one of them can put up their hand. Frozen Fortune is good sort of Proisir filly retained by her breeders and has shown enough to say she can be an early winner.”
Pike’s solitary starter at Trentham on Saturday will be course specialist Slipper Island, who lines up in the Mode Technology Sprint (1200m) after being unplaced in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) a month ago.
The winner of four consecutive races down the Trentham chute last season, he never figured in the Telegraph after being squeezed back to the rear when the field jumped.
“His chances were more or less settled at the start and then he got stopped again trying to find a way through them at the top of the straight,” Pike said.
“We’ve put a line through that, so with the drop in class and hopefully a clean run he can get a decent crack at them this time.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
