Fritzy Boy fizzing ahead of Derby date

Opaki trainer Alby MacGregor has been in the racing game too long to make rash statements about any of his charges.
So when MacGregor says his star three-year-old Fritzy Boy is better than an outside chance in the $700,000 Mercedes New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie on Saturday you sit up and take notice.
It's not only his winning of South Island's triple crown by scoring successive wins in the Gore Guineas, Dunedin Guineas and Southland Guineas which has MacGregor chipper about the prospects of what will be his very first Derby runner.
Every bit as much it's a case of how the youngster improved in both condition and mental aptitude on his southern sojourn and how well he has progressed since returning to his Opaki base.
"He's jumping out of his skin ... he couldn't be any better in himself," MacGregor said of Fritzy Boy yesterday. "Quite honestly I couldn't be happier with him."
The fact the Derby is raced over the distance of 2400m and Fritzy Boy has yet to tackle further than 1600m has, not surprisingly, raised doubts over his ability to see out the longer journey. MacGregor himself readily concedes it is a big ask but he also notes the distance will be a query for most of the Derby runners
"It's one of those things, you never quite know they will get it (the 2400m) before they try it," he said. "All you can do is trust you have the preparation right and that the horse is feeling good on the day. Throw in a bit of luck and you never know what will happen."
MacGregor has increased Fritzy Boy's workload in his last couple of serious track gallops with an eye to testing his stamina and has been delighted with the way he has responded.
"We've been putting over more ground and asking him to come home hard over the last 200m and he hasn't turned a hair," he said. MacGregor also has good reason to believe that when it comes to preparing thoroughbreds for big races he has nothing to prove.
He recalls the same doubts over his readiness for the distance being raised about his outstanding chaser Bodle as he prepared for the 2001 Grant National Steeples at Riccarton, doubts which were completely erased when Bodle stuck on best in a gruelling home straight battle.
"I guess people are always going to question whether you are doing the right thing and it's just a matter of trusting your own judgement," he said. "Obviously there are times when you get it wrong but that's racing, you soon learn to take the good with the bad."
MacGregor isn't losing any sleep either over the fact the Derby will be the first time Fritzy Boy has raced on a right handed track. He has worked him that way round at Opaki on numerous occasions including his fast work over the past couple of weeks and he has handled it fine.
As to the short term future for Fritzy Boy MacGregor says he will be given time to get over his Derby exertions before anything definite is planned but he himself has already given thought to trekking across the Tasman and racing him in Brisbane or Adelaide.
"Right now it's only a thought, we'll get Saturday over with before we start thinking too seriously about anything else," he said. "But there are some nice races for a horse like him in Australia so it makes sense to at least consider it ... he'll tell us whether it's a goer or not."