Ess Vee Are and Arby set for Wellington Cup, trainer can’t split them

Ess Vee Are will contest Saturday’s Group 3 New Zealand Campus Of Innovation And Sport Wellington Cup (3200m) at Trentham. Photo / Kenton Wright, Race Images

Darryn Weatherley is unable to split his talented stayers Ess Vee Are and Arby ahead of Saturday’s Group 3 New Zealand Campus Of Innovation And Sport Wellington Cup (3200m), and with the same ownership group in both horses, he would be happy to see either take the Trentham feature.

The stablemates are half-brothers and strikingly similar, as big staying types with plenty to respect about their records.

A 7-year-old by Shocking, Ess Vee Are won the Listed New Zealand St Leger (2600m) nearly two years ago at the Upper Hutt course, and this term has found little luck since winning at Te Rapa in October. In the Group 3 Counties Cup (2100m), the gelding was severely hampered when Arby jumped the crossing and dislodged his rider, then in the Group 3 Waikato Cup (2400m), he struggled to find room for much of the final straight.

Weatherley, who trains in partnership with his daughter Briar, was happy to look past his most recent effort at Taupō, finishing 10th behind Doddle.

“His run in the Waikato Cup was super, then he went to Taupō and we were expecting a bit more than what we got,” he said. “But he had a couple of excuses that we’ve taken from that, he was off-colour and his blood wasn’t quite 100%, he also went down on his front bumpers on a track that was never going to suit him.

“That was enough for us to suggest he’s worth a shot at Wellington, his work since has been super and he’s won the St Leger down there.”

Meanwhile, his younger sibling Arby bounced back from the Counties incident with a game second placing in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2400m) on New Year’s Day, where he had the race won everywhere but the line, where he was caught by Son Of Sun.

“It was a great run and he didn’t have all favours really, it was a hard watch going out of the straight,” Weatherley said. “I thought it was a very good ride by Jasmine [Fawcett] because she was going to be caught wide, she elected to go forward when the pace came out of the race and that was almost the winning of it.

“He tried very hard and he deserves his spot in the field on Saturday, I’m really looking forward to stepping him over two miles.”

The pair currently lie at $12 (Ess Vee Are) and $14 (Arby) in the TAB Futures market for the Cup and Weatherley hopes a dry surface will allow them both a shot at the major spoils.

“Both these boys, they’re half-brothers and are just out-and-out stayers,” he said. “At the two miles, I think they will eat up the ground, but I’m hoping that will be on good footing. The weather is looking okay, so if we can get between that 4-6 range, it’ll be right up their alley.

“I can’t separate them, on Arby’s run at Ellerslie and Ess Vee Are’s history at Wellington. It’s a hard race to win, but it would certainly be a thrill if one of them could put their hand up.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

A long-standing association with owners RBC Racing would make a title all the more special for Weatherley.

“The owners were my first clients, they are family friends of ours and own the mare [Reiveke],” he said. “They bred both of these horses, Ess Vee Are by Shocking and then Proisir for the other boy. We are very fortunate to have them on board.

“The first horse we ever trained, aside from our own horse who is the mother of Pier and Maria Farina [La Vitesse], was called Soda, who was owned by these people.

“We’ve got two out of the mare both by Vadamos, one is a 3-year-old who finished second at his first trial, and the other is a 2-year-old filly, she’s had a couple of jump-outs and is just coming back into work.

“She’s showing the family promise as well.”

– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk