Te Akau Racing will be chasing stakes success at Caulfield and Wanganui on Saturday, but they will also be paying close attention to Riccarton, where several of their spring hopes will kick-off their preparations.
Trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson will line-up a dozen horses at the Christchurch meeting, including exciting colt Zafar, who was victorious in his only start as a two-year-old last season when taking out the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton in May.
Te Akau Racing assistant trainer Hunter Durrant, who heads their Riccarton barn, is pleased with the way the son of Snitzel is building into his spring preparation, and he will kick-off in Saturday’s Cup Week Tickets On Sale- 1 September Three-Year-Old (1000m).
“He travelled back to Te Akau Stud and had a really good spell after his good win down here in the autumn,” Durrant said. “He strengthened up really nicely and he has come back really well.
“He has had a trial and then we took him to Ashburton for a gallop last Friday for a day out and he is coming along well. He is ready to run over 1000m. It might be a touch short for him at the current point in his prep, but he is a horse that is only going to improve.
“The Heavy track is a little bit concerning, but I think class will take him a long way.”
The Fortuna Racing colt is on a path towards the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November, and Durrant believes getting him down to their Riccarton barn nice and early ahead of the spring is a key advantage.
“I think it is a big advantage,” he said. “Our record in the race is outstanding, and it is a key factor in getting them down here early.
“He is a really straightforward colt. I think they had a few little problems with him early on, but the autumn trip helped him mature, and he is doing everything really well. He has settled in, he is happy, and he just eats, sleeps and repeats. That is what you want in a colt with big aims.”
Zafar will be met in his race on Saturday by stablemate Enchantment, who also had a productive two-year-old season, winning the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) at Riccarton in April, and placed in three of her other four starts.
“She is a stakes-winning filly and she is coming up well,” Durrant said. “She will really like the 1000m, and I think she will put her best foot forward.”
Stablemate Cool Aza Rene also had stakes success last season, winning the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) and placing in the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m), and will have her first hit-out of the season in the White Robe Lodge Celebrating 70 Years Rating 75 (1200m).
“She was a very good three-year-old, but she now has to race against the older horses,” Durrant said. “She is only little, but she is tough.
“She is really forward for her, she is usually an average trackworker, but she is working a lot better than she usually has. She is fresh and I am really looking forward to her running on Saturday.”
Fellow four-year-old mare Marokopa Falls will also kick-off her preparation in Saturday’s Group 1 Raceday Part – 12 September Rating 65 (1000m), and Durrant is hoping she can fulfil her potential this spring.
“She is a little bit frustrating,” he said. “We thought earlier on in her racing career that she might be a really handy horse, but she has just taken a little bit of time. She is running good enough races but is just not getting there.
“She works with Cool Aza Rene and she has been working a little bit better. She might enjoy the Heavy track, she has been working on Heavy tracks and has been working really well. It will be interesting to see how she runs there on Saturday. 1000m may be a touch short for her, but it is a good starting point.”
Durrant is also looking forward to the return of Insatiable and Trobriand in the Echoes Of Heaven At Clearview Park Open (1000m).
“They both finished the autumn off in very good form,” he said. “I think Trobriand will appreciate the Heavy track, he ran really well on that wet track on (New Zealand) Cup Day (when second in the Listed Stewards’ Stakes, 1200m). He is a horse that doesn’t mind it. He has come up really well.
“Insatiable was in career-best form in the autumn and it is hard to fault him compared to where he was back then.”
Durrant is also excited about the spring prospects of Court Of Appeal and Cognoscenti, who will both contest the Listen Live On Sportnation.nz Open (1600m).
“Court Of Appeal will most likely have another campaign set to go to the (New Zealand) Cup (Gr.3, 3200m) again,” Durrant said. “She is a nice stayer and she is fit enough to run the mile. She may run a cheeky race over the mile, but she will be looking for further.
“Cognoscenti is a horse I have a bit of time for. He is going through the grades nicely. The Heavy track is a bit of a question mark, but he is a horse we really like.”
Te Akau’s Riccarton barn takes winning form into the weekend following Zambrosia’s 2-3/4 length victory in the Christchurch Casino 31st SI Awards – 11 September Maiden (1600m) at Riccarton’s synthetic meeting on Wednesday.
“It was a good ride by Triston (Moodley) when he put her into the race,” Durrant said. “She looked the winner a long way from home, and it was good to see her run away from the field. Hopefully she can get a bit of confidence and go forward.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
