Brazilian hoop Bruno Queiroz was airborne in the tangerine silks of Te Akau Racing at Riccarton’s synthetic meeting on Wednesday, guiding two of the stable’s runners to success and another to a narrow placing.
The double emulated his effort on the previous day at Otaki, where he piloted Testing (NZ) (Time Test) and He’s All Fabulous (NZ) (Fabulous) to victory across the rescheduled card, before heading south with a big book of rides.
His Riccarton brace commenced in the Speight’s Summit Ultra On Tap Maiden (1600m) where odds-on favourite Purple Prose (NZ) (Embellish) was tasked with running down the $201 outsider New Beginning (NZ) (Vespa), who looked to have a winning break on his rivals in the straight.
In a perfectly-timed run, Queiroz wound up on the outside aboard Purple Prose and caught New Beginning just short of the line, a satisfying result for trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson.
“It was a good effort to win from that far back and a lovely ride of Bruno’s,” Walker said.
“With his experience beforehand in Singapore, (Bruno) rides the polytracks so well and has a real confidence about him on the synthetic surfaces.
“Purple Prose has the breeding to get over more distance, being a half-brother to our good staying mare Elegant Lady (NZ) (Highly Recommended), and he’ll keep improving with more time and maturity.”
A couple of races later, it was the turn of Queen Of Naples (NZ) (Darci Brahma), who was shooting for a repeat performance after a dominant maiden win at the course last month.
Starting as the second-elect in the Red Nose Raceday – 24 July Three-Year-Old (1400m), Queiroz looked to find cover early aboard the daughter of Darci Brahma, but with no leader emerging from the field, he took matters into his own hands and dictated the tempo up-front.
The filly was travelling strongly into the straight, and once she kicked clear, she was never in doubt, holding out a strong finish from race-favourite Wanderin Spelle (NZ) (Wyndspelle) to score by 3–¾ lengths.
Queiroz was duly impressed with Queen Of Naples and is enjoying life in New Zealand after relocating to the country in autumn.
“I was confident because her last win was very, very, easy, and today, this field did not have pace,” he said.
“I had instructions to keep her happy and she was travelling very well. I waited until the straight, and in the last 200m, she was flying home.
“I am very happy here, love this country, and with my manager Andre Neill, we are getting plenty of support and opportunities. I’m happy to enjoy my work here and enjoy the moment.”
It looked that Queiroz may have completed the treble in the last, with a long wait for a photo finish between his mount, Rule Of Law, and Delmonico, but the result went the way of the Andrew Carston-trained runner.