Stephen Ralph is more than happy to stick with a winning combination in his pursuit of a maiden stakes victory on Saturday for the in-form Leroy Brown (NZ) (Ace High).
The Te Awamutu trainer has rewarded apprentice Jack Taplin for his performance aboard the five-year-old last time out with the ride on the freegoer in the Gr.2 Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga.
They combined to run their rivals ragged in an open handicap over a mile and Ralph will be hoping for more of the same from the duo at the weekend.
“I said to Jack at Matamata that you should be able to lead and it was a 10 out of 10 ride, it was absolutely perfect,” Ralph said.
“We like to form a relationship between the horse and the jockey and try and stick with it.”
Leroy Brown also has an impressive record at Tauranga where the son of Ace High has three wins and two placings to his credit with his only failure a midfield finish in the Japan Trophy 12 months ago.
“Last year, he just took off and hopefully this time he doesn’t grab the bit and charge off,” Ralph said.
“In the past, he has done too much in the run, but mentally he is getting a lot better.”
While Leroy Brown’s outside gate (15) is a concern, he does possess enough gate speed to cross the field to land his favoured frontrunning role.
“We’ve got a bit of a problem with the barrier draw, but if it does get a bit wetter then he may not have to spend as much petrol to get to the lead,” Ralph said.
“Anything from a Good4 to a Soft7 is in his range, but when it gets up to a 10 his racing manners aren’t conducive to a result.
“You can’t go flat out in Red Band gumboots and think you’re going to win.”
Should the gelding run up to expectations at Tauranga, a trip south for the Listed Bramco Granite & Marble Flying Handicap (1400m) is on the radar.
“He might go down to Trentham, we think it’s a track that suits him and he was only 1.3 lengths off the winner (Quintessa (NZ) (Shamus Award)) there in the Group One (Levin Classic, 1600m) as a three-year-old,” Ralph said.
Ralph will also be represented in the Snow Williams Bayleys Country Handicap (2100m) at Tauranga by Perfectmanz (NZ) (Almanzor), a past course and distance winner who didn’t find the Ellerslie track to his liking last time out.
“I really like him, he’s got the ability but doesn’t really know it,” Ralph said.
“He’s got a high cruising speed and hopefully he doesn’t get boxed in on a slow pace. That will be up to Jack to work out and with a bit of luck, I think he’s a strong chance.”