D'Cash Man put his rivals to the sword in his first race of the season and the local 3-year-old can do more of the same at tomorrow's Ruakaka meeting.
Admittedly his opposition in the Macsway Scaffolding 1000 is a significant step up from his fresh-up win but D'Cash Man wasso impressive it is hard to see him not giving this race a decent shake.
While co-trainer Kenny Rae falls short as labelling the gelding as a good thing tomorrow, there is no doubting his confidence in the horse's ability.
"Fitness-wise we haven't done much with him since his win because we were mindful his next race was only 1000m," said Rae.
"But he has thrived and I would be very disappointed if he didn't finish in the first three. I haven't had a horse of his ability in the stable for a long time."
That fact was underlined when D'Cash Man galloped over the weekend.
"I rode him in his gallop on the course proper and it felt like we had covered the last 600m in around 40 seconds. In actual fact he went 35.5. I couldn't believe it."
Safely through tomorrow's race, D'Cash Man will be aimed at the Breeders Stakes race at Ruakaka on September 15.
"That looks the logical way to go. Long term, I'd like to take him to Riccarton for the carnival in November."
Another local 3-year-old who will create plenty of interest tomorrow is King Zeus.
The Dean and Donna Logan-trained galloper kicks off a new campaign in the Goodground Real Estate 1200. "He's worked well leading into this," said co-trainer Donna Logan.
"I do think, potentially, he is more a staying type than sprinter but we are expecting a bold showing tomorrow."
With that in mind, Logan said it was unlikely King Zeus would be aimed at the Breeders Stakes next month.
"It is more likely we will look to step him up in distance. If he happened to win and do it impressively, an Australian campaign could be in the offing."
