A Tuesday morning trip across to Te Rapa has Cambridge trainer Andrew Forsman in a positive frame of mind with his quartet of feature race candidates at Waikato Thoroughbred Racing headquarters on Saturday.
Heading the contingent is Hinekaha, who had raceday rider Craig Grylls in the saddle for a solo hitout on the Te Rapa course proper as she prepared for her Group One debut in the $700,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m).
“The track was lovely after a bit of rain overnight and it was good to get across there for a nice hitout ahead of the weekend,” Forsman said.
“Hinekaha worked over 1400m and picked up the tempo from the 800. She got home in around 36.5, which was great work, she did it very well.
“Craig was very happy with her too, so she looks all set for Saturday.”
The Savabeel mare completed a hat-trick when winning the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes over the same 2000m as Saturday’s weight-for-age feature at Te Rapa in December. In her only start since she closed late for a short-neck second to Tuxedo in the Gr.3 Aotearoa Classic (1600m) on the Karaka Millions card and will be more suited to the additional distance on Saturday.
While having some reservations at the step up to Group One weight-for-age company, Forsman counters that by the physical improvement Hinekaha has made in her four-year-old season, combined with what is shaping as less challenging opposition than originally anticipated.
“She’s a completely different proposition to this time last year, she’s so much bigger and stronger. There’s still a little way to go, but the way this track plays for her it really suits, and with the field not quite as strong as it looked originally, we’ve decided to run.
“Put it this way, I think she’s going well enough to do it.”
Forsman is also looking forward to testing some of the rising talent in his team, two of them against age-group opposition in the Gr.2 David &Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2100m), Gr.2 Legacy Lodge Waikato Guineas (2000m) and the other in the special conditions Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic (1600m).
Single Red, the winner of her last two starts, is entered for both three-year-old features, Chilling Out, who finished fifth in the Listed Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), is in the Ellis Classic, while Rambling On, a winner at Te Rapa in December, prepared for the Karapiro Classic with a recent trial win at Pukekohe.
“They’re all in good shape and worked well this morning,” Forsman said. “I’ve yet to make up my mind with Single Red as to which race she runs in, but it might get down to whether they ballot her in one of them.
“Chilling Out is also a filly I really like but she’s a bit like Hinekaha a year ago, so we’ll take her one race at a time.
“Rambling On is a four-year-old that I’ve been able to bring along quietly but he’s come to hand well lately and the ($350,000) stake on Saturday is definitely worth a crack at.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
