Nepheti back on top first up

The Nepheti (NZ) (Charm Spirit) of old showed her colours at Te Aroha on Wednesday, the mare kicking off her five-year-old campaign with a powerful victory in The George Abernathy and Associates 1150.

Stakes-performed at three, Nepheti performed solidly without reaching those same heights last term, but looked ready to get back to the winner’s circle with two good trials this time in.

In a competitive Rating 70 field, Nepheti’s $15 opening price was snapped up by punters, closing near the $7 mark. After a key rival in Magice was late-scratched at the gates, the mare got away well under jockey Joe Doyle and settled into the trial of pacemaker Oban, who ran along a good tempo alongside Mr Fortrus.

Oban came well off the rail on straightening, leaving a big gap for Doyle to kick through and head for home on Nepheti as she started to go through her gears. Just as a competitive finish was shaping up across the track, Nepheti hit another gear, striding clear of her rivals to score by three-quarters of a length to Miss Madridista and Mr Fortrus.

Her co-trainer Shaune Ritchie identified where he thought it might’ve gone wrong last prep, but couldn’t have been happier with how she returned as an older mare.

“She was stakes-placed as a three-year-old and we thought she was going to be much stronger at four, but we just flatted her first-up running from a wide gate on an off track and she worked hard,” said Ritchie, who trains in partnership with Colm Murray. “That knocked her over as a four-year-old, so she’s come back stronger as a five-year-old.

“There was a lot of depth in those trials and she was strong at the line, and when they trial like that, they never run poorly.

“He’s (Doyle) given her a lovely ride. She looked a bit flat at the top of the straight and I was wondering if she was going to get into that next gear, but she did and the $15 looked good.”

Nepheti brought her win tally to four from just 14 starts, carrying the silks of breeders Windsor Park Stud who race her alongside the Galaxy Racing No.7 Syndicate.

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