Harlech (NZ) (Darci Brahma) has returned to Pam Gerard’s Matamata base after another successful southern campaign, and he’ll aim to continue that form closer to home at Te Rapa on Saturday.
After winning the Listed Hazlett Stakes (1400m) earlier in his preparation at Wingatui, Harlech recorded his second consecutive runner-up finish in the Gr.3 Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m), despite the unfavourable track conditions.
With minimal options left in the South Island, the son of Darci Brahma headed home and has impressed Gerard since, enough so to press on through the winter period if the right surfaces arise.
“He’s really not a heavy tracker and hated every minute of it in the Cup, but his class, being well and wanting to be out there racing got him that result,” she said. “He was going nowhere at all and managed to pick himself up and get through it, so it was a big effort.
“We brought him back up because they were going to the synthetic, and that’s not me and not him. We thought he may be heading towards the paddock for a spell, but he’s that well when he got home we thought we’d keep him going.
“If we got a good track, we’d race and if they were heavy, we’d put him aside. It looks like the track will be nice, probably the best track he’s raced on all season.”
The Group One performer will contest the KPMG Mile (1600m) on Saturday, where Hayley Hassman’s four-kilogram claim has lessened his weight impost to a competitive 58kg.
“The weight is definitely a query, but he’s got that for a reason,” Gerard said. “He’s done well down south, it hasn’t been a fantastic season, but he’s still top of the pops.
“We always thought this would be his last season, but he seems to be getting better and better, so we’ll leave it up to him. He’ll have a bit of a break at some stage, but he does lots of different things, going jumping, doing dressage and goes out and about all the time, the variety really works for him.
“It really depends on the weather, but being an older horse, I don’t think he likes being out in the paddock that much and we’ve got some races up at Ruakaka on better tracks that could suit him.”
Harlech’s speedy stablemate Shoes (NZ) (Derryn) also returned to the north recently, having collected a fourth placing in the Listed Timaru Stakes (1200m) during her travels. Gerard had also considered a spell for the Derryn mare, but a big performance to finish just short of progressive gelding Force Of Nature (NZ) (Savabeel) called for a change of plans.
“She’s come home from being down south as well and we got a little bit of black-type, probably not the black-type we were looking for but things just didn’t go right for her,” Gerard said. “Then she raced super at Wellington, she was in it for a long way on the worst part of the track.
“She was pretty fired up when she got home and I thought she may be telling us it was the end of the season, but we gave her one more and she ran a beauty.
“I think she’s gone forward since then, she’s very well and the distance suits.”
Kelly Myers will partner Shoes in the Jarvis Trading 1100.
Gerard will have a sole representative at Ellerslie on Sunday, with well-performed maidener Kind Of Blue chasing that elusive first win in the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series (1300m).
“She’s just a little, slight filly that has taken time to mature,” Gerard said.
“She doesn’t like a wet track, but with Ellerslie there, we still have options that are available. She’s probably coming to the end of her season, but she looked like last start that she may be looking for the 1400m, where in the past we thought 1200 would be her limit.
“We’ve gone in the middle at 1300 so we’ll see how she goes.”