Wexford Stables will head to Arawa Park on Saturday with the defending Gr.3 Rotorua ITM Stakes (1400m) champion Karman Line, but her stablemates won’t be making a repeat crown an easy task.
The biggest threat on recent form is Tomodachi, a shortening $2.90 race-favourite who earned her first black-type credentials when booming home into third in the Listed City Of Napier Sprint (1200m). The daughter of Tarzino recorded impressive sectionals in that event on a Soft5 track, and with conditions likely to worsen, trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott are hoping she can continue that record.
“We were so pleased with her performance (at Trentham), she got her first piece of black-type which is always a good milestone,” Scott said.
“It was a fair trip away but she’s come through it really well, she’s had a good bit of time to recover and steps up to the 1400m. We’ve seen her handle the soft ground in the past and we’re hoping she relaxes well and finishes strong. If she does things right in the run, it’s going to take her a long way in being competitive.
“The draw (13 with emergencies) gives her a bit of room and an option to settle away, which is certainly the way we’ll look to ride her. It may be, with the rain coming, quite often the place to be.”
Tomodachi will be partnered by Joe Doyle, who is chasing an impressive 10th stakes victory this term, while premiership-leading hoop Craig Grylls will guide the fortunes of Karman Line.
Karman Line has a tendency to mix her form but often puts her best on display during this period of the season, which was enough to defeat top-liner La Crique in last year’s running.
She indicated she was back in a similar vein of form when scoring at Te Rapa over Cannon Hill two starts back, then far from disgraced herself when fifth behind Super Photon on April 26.
“We were really pleased with her last time out, she got a long way back and covered a lot of ground,” Scott said.
“Once she starts to hit form, she tends to hold it and she’s handled the conditions at Rotorua before. We think she’s going as good as she was last year and we’re hoping she puts in a similar performance.
“She looks amazing in her coat and condition for this time of the year.”
Wexford Stables will also be represented in the race by Lux Libertas and Kelly Coe, the latter a winner of the Gr.3 Spring Sprint (1400m) back in October.
“She’s (Kelly Coe) a horse that hasn’t had everything go her way in big races this season, we’ve just freshened her up a wee bit and her work on Tuesday morning was as good as I’ve seen from her all season,” Scott said.
“In a fresh state on the softer ground, we think she’ll sprint well and on her day, she’s very talented. There’s no reason why she can’t be right in it.
“Lux Libertas is going really well, she’s had a bit of a luckless season now that she’s hit open grade.
“She handles soft ground, her run at Te Rapa was an indication that she’s going well and has taken good improvement from that as her first run in quite a while. She’s a very talented mare and we’re thinking she’ll be right in it as well.”
Among Wexford’s remaining runners at the meeting is Desert Mystic, a winner of three races this preparation, who steps back from Group Three company and will contest the MacMillan Accountants 1560, with three-kilogram claiming apprentice Rihaan Goyaram’s aboard.
“He drops back from the Easter into (Rating) 75 grade, he’s a consistent horse and has been all season,” Scott said.
“He’s a fit gelding that looks good in the coat for this time of the year, he’s handled a long preparation well and will make a strong account of himself on the weekend.”
Further south at Trentham, capable three-year-old Tristar will appear in a fresh state when contesting the Leica Lucy 3YO 1200.
“She’s shown good form in soft ground earlier in the spring and we trialled her at Pukekohe last week, and she seemed to handle the ground really well,” Scott said. “She’s trained on well and we think she’ll handle the conditions, and having a wee claim with Liam aboard, she should race really well.”