Proven mare Archaic Smile is looking to make her presence felt in the open ranks before a potential southern trip when she contests Saturday’s Gr.3 fastinternet.co.nz Spring Sprint (1400m) at Otaki.
A Group One performing juvenile, Archaic Smile found that form again in her autumn three-year-old campaign, narrowly missing top honours in the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m) and Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m).
She resumed with a solid fourth in an Open 1200m behind Midnight Edition at Te Rapa, a performance that gave trainer Hollie Wynyard the option of going to the Spring Sprint, or the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1200m) on Sunday at Rotorua.
Once barrier draws came out on Wednesday morning, that became an easy decision for the Cambridge horsewoman.
“She drew 11 at Rotorua against a Group One field, so we’ll head down to Otaki having drawn two down there,” Wynyard said.
“It was a good run first-up, she’s coming out of three-year-old grade and was straight into pretty much the Foxbridge Plate field, so I was happy with that.
“She’s pulled up well, bounced through it and she’s a mare that does well with racing. She’ll get better the further she gets into her prep.
“I don’t know how good she is on the really heavy tracks, I’m hoping Otaki will come back to a decent heavy but there is a question mark on how she’ll handle it. But she’s flying, she had a gallop last Saturday at Matamata on a very heavy track and looked like she swam through it quite well.”
The daughter of Saxon Warrior has never raced beyond 1400m and Wynyard hopes to extend her range this spring, with the Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) during New Zealand Cup Week on her radar.
“I’m hoping to get down there, we’ll probably run in the fillies and mares race (Gr.3 Windsor Park Stud Canterbury Breeders’ Stakes, 1400m) on the first day then if she goes well, we’ll look at backing her up,” she said.
“She does back up quite well, so it’s just an option if she goes well that we can have a go.”
Archaic Smile may have a travelling companion in the form of stablemate Sweet Talkin Gal, who holds nominations for each of the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) and Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m).
Her mission towards the three-year-old classics will commence at the Rotorua meeting, where she lines up in the Green Light Insurance Brokers (1400m) off the back of a comfortable trial win at Te Rapa.
“She’s similar (to Archaic Smile), the more she’s in work, the better she gets,” Wynyard said.
“She’s quite a laid-back filly so it’s hard to get a line on her sometimes, but she looks incredible, she’s been working up super and off that trial, it gives you a lot of confidence heading into a maiden race.
“I was probably a little bit concerned about going 1400 first-up if the track was really testing, but the weather looks pretty good from now until Sunday and she is a filly that’ll want a mile or 2000m.
“I think the 1400 will be perfect for her.”
By Anders, Sweet Talkin Gal is a half-sister to eight-win mare Pride Of Aspen, who has been trained for most of her career by Wynyard and her former training partner Johno Benner.
Wynyard will have a further four runners at the meeting, including stakes-placed mare This Time Girl in the Campbell Infrastructure (1400m).
Coming out of an Oaks preparation, The Time Girl was sharp in her resuming win at Taupo but was wide throughout to finish out of the placings at Ellerslie last start.
“She’s bounced through it, I’m just putting a line through that as it was a bad ride and nothing went her way,” Wynyard said.
“We’re pretty happy with her going into Rotorua, we’ll put some side fluffies on her to make her concentrate a bit more but she’s going well so hopefully she can turn her form around.”