Unbeaten hurdler Billy Boy will make his debut over the bigger fences at Te Aroha on Sunday, with a view on returning to the track for a lucrative feature early in the new season.
After warming up in four flat runs this campaign, Billy Boy came out firing over fences, maintaining his unblemished record with victories in the Manawatu Hurdle (2500m) and Wellington Hurdles (3200m).
The son of So You Think is currently a $4.20 second-favourite for the Hospitality NZ Canterbury 135th Grand National Hurdles (4200m), but trainer Jo Rathbone has opted not to travel south this year, instead turning her focus to the Great New Zealand Hurdles (4200m), run at Te Aroha on September 19.
“I’ve decided not to take him down to Christchurch this year, I’m aiming towards the Northern Hurdle instead, and this seemed like a good option heading towards that,” Rathbone said.
“This is another step up in distance, so it fitted in well with my plans.”
Continuing his partnership with Englishman Joshua Parker, the large-framed gelding will contest the Apparelmaster Waikato (3500m), and Rathbone isn’t concerned about the switch over to steeplechasing.
“I’m sure he will jump the live fences really well and I don’t think it will worry him, any jump is only knee high to him anyway,” she said.
“He’s done all sorts and had plenty of variety – he’s been to sports days, he’s been hunting, he’s done a bit of everything. I’ve got horses racing on Saturday at Te Rapa, so on Saturday morning I’ll take him into Cambridge and he can pop over a few live fences there before Sunday.”
Billy Boy prepared for his upcoming assignment with a 1600m trial at Foxton on Tuesday, which he took out over stablemate Thebudgiesmugla.
“He needed a bit of a blowout because he was pretty above himself and feeling very well,” Rathbone said. “I thought I’d better not send him on Sunday too fresh.
“I was hoping for a nice even gallop and he was good, it went well.”
Thebudgiesmugla will also be on the truck from Rathbone’s Wanganui base, aiming to go back-to-back in the after breaking maidens at Ellerslie in May.
“He had a few weeks off after his last race, then I took him up to Cambridge for some schooling when a couple of my other horses had jumping trials,” Rathbone said. “He had a bit of a hit out there and I thought he just needed one more good work out before Sunday.
“He’s got ability, he’s just still learning and tends to hit a flat spot before working out that he’s got to run a bit quicker, then he’s off again.
“I think he’s going to improve every time he races, and he doesn’t seem to mind any track conditions, he goes on most ground.”
The son of Redwood will line-up under Elen Nicholas in the Combined Contractors LTD 2200, while Shinagawa will step out in her first jumping assignment in the NZJR Welcomes Rick McIntosh (3100m).
“I’m hoping to see a nice run from her, she’s only four but she’s done a lot of jumping,” Rathbone said. “She jumps well, she went around at the Cambridge trials and has done plenty down here as well.
“She tries hard, she’s no champion, but she’s honest enough so I’d hope she won’t be too far away.
“I think she’ll be more of a steeplechaser.”
On the previous day at Te Rapa, Rathbone will be represented by Yellow Jersey and Nigelnomates, both of which will return from injury setbacks earlier in the year.
Yellow Jersey had been a model of consistency through his spring and summer campaign, but was uncharacteristically last in a Rating 75 race at Waverley in February, and it was later revealed that the gelding had splints.
“He didn’t go very well at his last start because he had splints that had come up, so that was the reason why he went poorly,” Rathbone said. “My intention had been to aim for a couple of hurdle starts when the tracks were better at the start of the season, but because of that, we had to give him some time off.
“So, we’re just getting going again now and he’s always preferred a better track, but he seems a lot stronger this time in and he’s been working well enough on a heavier track.
“I’m hoping that he will handle it, he’s done plenty of work so he should be forward enough for his fresh-up run. He does go well fresh, so it’ll just be track conditions as the question mark.
“We’ll aim to have a hurdle run or two before the end of the season, he jumps particularly well.”
It was a similar story for Nigelnomates, who steps out on race day for the first time in just shy of a year when taking his place in the Doug Morris Mile (1600m).
“He was the same as Yellow Jersey, he went out because of injury, which was the reason for his poor performance in his last start,” Rathbone said. “He’s had to have time off, but he’s had a lot of work and he’s pretty fit.
“He doesn’t like it super heavy either which is why I’m going up to Te Rapa, where it doesn’t tend to be quite so heavy.
“Fingers crossed it’s not too heavy for him, he definitely has ability.”