Kevin and Stephen Gray have four talented up-and-comers entered for Trentham on Saturday, along with an exciting international jockey recruit, but the prospect of a testing track has dented the confidence of the Palmerston North stable.
The father-son team will be represented by Cooper (NZ) (Tivaci) in the $50,000 Australian Turf Club Autumn Sprint Final (1200m), Albarossa (Vino Rosso) and Cosentino (NZ) (El Roca) in the Leica Lucy 3YO (1200m), and Tycoon Boss (Street Boss) in the Doctor Askar Maiden (1000m).
“We’re taking a really, really nice team to Trentham,” Stephen Gray said. “They’re all lovely horses with bright futures in front of them. I just wish they were racing on a Soft5 instead of a Heavy8 or worse.”
Cooper is bred and raced by long-time stable clients Howard and Pamela Forbes and is a half-brother to the black-type performers Rock ‘N’ Affair (NZ) (Rock ‘N’ Pop) and Stumpy (NZ) (O’Reilly), who were both trained by Kevin Gray.
From 14 starts, Cooper has himself recorded three wins and four placings. He won a Rating 65 by almost three lengths at Wanganui on April 5, then stepped up for a Rating 75 at Te Rapa on April 26 and finished a close fourth behind Queen Zou (Zoustar), Willit (NZ) (Swiss Ace) and Nepheti (NZ) (Charm Spirit).
“It was a really good run at Te Rapa,” Stephen Gray said. “It was just the wide draw that beat him there. He had to go back, and the track was quite quick up the fence that day.
“He’s been running well and is turning into a nice horse. A heavy track is a concern for him, especially with his race being late in the day. I don’t think he’s a real wet-tracker, so we might have to play that by ear. But that’s just the time of year that we’re coming into now.
“We’ve also got Ellerslie next week as another option we could consider for him. He’s a promising horse and should be very competitive wherever he lines up.”
Albarossa’s first five starts produced two smart wins along with a second, a third and a fourth. He faced his biggest test in the Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa last start, where he finished near the back of the field after being checked in the straight.
“He got a bad check in the home straight, which Michael McNab was suspended for,” Gray said. “His jockey hadn’t moved on him at that stage.
“The winner (Ardalio) was impressive, so I don’t know if we would have beaten that horse, but I think we would have been up around the top four if it hadn’t been for that check.
“He’s well above average and is a really fit horse with that trip under his belt. This looks like a very good race for him. Again, it’s just a matter of how bad the track gets.
“But as I said to the owners, they’re only three once and it’s a nice race on our back doorstep, so we might as well have a go.”
Albarossa will be joined in that $35,000 three-year-old sprint by his stablemate Cosentino. The El Roca gelding was last seen in the spring, when the first three starts of his career produced a sixth, a win and a fourth.
“He’s another really promising horse, but this is his first start back from a spell and he’ll need the run,” Gray said. “It’s just about starting him off. But he’s a really nice horse in the making.”
The stable has endured a frustrating time with Tycoon Boss, who has placed in all of his three starts including his resuming run at Wanganui on April 5.
“He’s a very, very talented horse but it’s been incredibly hard to find a race for him,” Gray said. “A foot injury put him out for two or three months. He ran well resuming, but since then we’ve taken him to three cancelled meetings and also had to scratch him from another one because of the track.
“He really wants decent ground, but that’s hard to find at the moment. We may end up having to just take the risk and run him anyway. It is what it is.”
Cooper, Albarossa and Tycoon Boss will all be ridden by Bruno Queiroz, who will make his New Zealand debut at Trentham on Saturday.
The 23-year-old hails from Brazil and made his mark in Singapore, culminating in a premiership title in the final season of racing at Kranji.
“He’s a huge talent,” Gray said. “He’s Joao Moreira’s godson, and Joao and I have been good friends since his days riding in Singapore. Joao wanted to get Bruno to Singapore for some international experience and asked me to help him get started.
“After being unable to speak a word of English when he arrived, his progress was incredible – to the point where he rode four winners on the very last day of racing in Singapore, clinching the premiership.
“He’s only 23 and has ridden over 1100 winners already. He’s a huge talent, young, light and a very humble, nice and hard-working person.
“Joao wants him to learn his trade a bit more over here in New Zealand with us. It’ll give him a great grounding for his future career.
“If he settles in well here and gets going, especially in the spring, I think he could do very well. “His record is incredible. I expect him to be a real asset to New Zealand racing, and he could well prove to be as good as any rider in the country.”