Comeback jumper Te Kahu will begin another campaign toward New Zealand’s premier steeplechases at Te Aroha on Sunday, stepping out on the flat alongside his stablemate, Captains Run.
Now an 11-year-old, Te Kahu won the Great Northern Steeplechase (6200m) back in 2021 and campaigned briefly in Australia in the following year.
The talented chestnut was off the scene for nearly two years after that, but he made a serious resurgence last year, defeating champion jumper West Coast to win the Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase (4800m), which was just his 19th start.
Unfortunately, after his Hastings triumph, Te Kahu was ruled out for the remainder of the year with a minor injury but is back to full soundness and will have his first conditioning run in the Majestic Horse Floats 2200m.
“He had a little joint issue after Hawke’s Bay, but that seems to have settled down now and we’re back into it,” trainer Dan O’Leary said. “He’s nice and sound.
“We haven’t done a lot of fast work with him and he’s done a little bit of schooling, so at this stage, this is a nice trip away and a flat race to start off with.
“He’s a very easy horse to have around, a pleasure to train, and he’s got a real will to win when he’s in a steeplechase. He gets very competitive and strong, so hopefully we can get back steeplechasing, and he can retain that energy that he has.”
In Te Kahu’s absence in the back end of the season, Captains Run stepped up for O’Leary, placing in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) and Great Northern Steeplechase (6500m), his second time finishing runner-up in the latter.
After 18 starts over fences, it’s something of a novelty that the gelding will make his debut on the flat on Sunday.
“It’s actually his first ever flat race, he’s never been in one before,” he said.
“Both he and Te Kahu wouldn’t have to be competitive, but if they’re finishing off well and pull up sound and happy, I’ll be very pleased with that.
“We are targeting those later steeplechasing races in the National and the Northern. Those are the two races that they’ll both head for, if they remain sound and competitive.
“That was another reason for going to Te Aroha, the Northern is run there, so it’s a step along the way.”
O’Leary will have a representative over fences on Sunday, with Zac Flash contesting the K and R Steeplechase (3500m). A winner over hurdles, the gelding tends to mix his jumping at times, and O’Leary hoped to combat that with a steeplechase trial at Cambridge on Monday.
“He actually didn’t jump that well again at the trials, but he can be a little bit like that, he needs a bit of repetition and routine to get flowing again,” O’Leary said.
“He’s stepping into open company without a maiden chase there, so he’s finding his way a bit and we’re just hoping that he can jump well, get around safely and finish on strongly.”