Shaun and Emma Clotworthy are looking forward to heading to Ellerslie on Boxing Day with a pair of their runners following their winning double at Pukekohe on Saturday.
Progressive mare Sista Sugar opened the stable’s account on Saturday when taking out the Stella Artois Championship Qualifier (1400m) in the hands of jockey Masa Hashizume, improving on her first-up runner-up effort over 1200m at Ellerslie last month.
“She got a beautiful trip. She is only small but she tries hard,” Shaun Clotworthy said.
“She has matured a bit more as a four-year-old and she seems to be coming along nicely and racing with better manners.”
The victory sealed her berth into the $110,000 Stella Artois 1500 Championship Final (1500m) on Boxing Day, and Clotworthy is keen to pursue the riches on offer.
“She will probably head towards that Stella Artois Final on Boxing Day,” he said. “She may have one run in-between, we are just working it out.”
Stablemate Billy Blinx is also destined to head to the same meeting to contest the $125,000 Dunstan Horsefeeds Stayers’ Championship Final (2400m) following his victory in the Dunstan Horsefeeds Stayers’ Championship Qualifier (1600m) on Saturday.
“He looks like quite a progressive horse. He has always shown us a lot, but he just hasn’t been mature enough,” Clotworthy said.
The Byerley Park trainer rated the son of Shocking alongside his subsequent Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) winner Willydoit in their formative years, and he is pleased the now four-year-old is starting to show that ability on raceday.
“He was alongside Willydoit as a younger horse and I rated him with that horse in his work, so it’s nice to see him do it on the track,” he said.
“We think that (Stayers’ Final) is where we will head with him. We will just see how he comes through the next couple of days and then make a plan.”
Clotworthy was also pleased with Aftermath’s placing in the Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m) on Saturday behind Final Return, which continued his solid run of form.
The six-year-old gelding ran fourth in both the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) and Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m) prior to Saturday’s run, and Clotworthy was rapt to finally attain black-type with the son of Rock ‘N’ Pop.
“It was a good run,” he said. “He didn’t get the most economical trip, he jumped and got caught wide a bit but still hit the line nicely, so I was pleased with him.”
Further Group targets await Aftermath over summer and Clotworthy is weighing up between a couple of options in the coming weeks.
“We might look at the Waikato Cup (Gr.3, 2400m), we will decide on what to do in the next couple of days,” he said. “He might even have a bit of a freshen-up and look at something like the Rich Hill Mile (Gr.2, 1600m). We will play it by ear.”