“She will head there and then step up to 2000m in the Zabeel at Ellerslie next start.”
That is the same path for El Vencedor, who will be dropping back from winning the Balmerino Stakes over 2000m at Ellerslie last start to Saturday’s 1600m, over the same track and distance he finished second to Puntura in the Thorndon Mile in January.
But while those two are definitely heading to the capital this weekend few of their northern mates are joining them.
The connections of Campionessa, Aegon, Meaningful Star, Jaarffi, Habana and Skyman, all under $14 in the futures market, have confirmed to the Herald they won’t be in the nominations at noon today.
The good news for any punter who has backed them is because the race doesn’t have early nominations, futures bets already placed on any horse that isn’t in the official entries today are refunded.
Snazzytavi is another form horse of the spring who won’t be there but she wasn’t in the TAB market.
She heads to the Cal Isuzu Stakes at Te Rapa on Saturday week as a stepping stone to the Zabeel Classic, which is shaping as a stacked highlight of the Christmas-New Year period.
“Going fresh-up into 1600m next week isn’t ideal but it is the best way to get her to the Zabeel which I’d love to win for Brendan and Jo Linsday [owners] since they sponsor the race,” said co-trainer Graham Richardson.
Campionessa will follow the same path while her trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson also won’t be taking recent Aussie import Midnight Blue to Trentham.
“Midnight Blue will go to the Matamata Cup [Friday, December 20] instead since he raced last Saturday so Perfect Scenario will be the only one we have in the Group 1 this week,” says Bergerson.
Co-trainer Grant Cooksley says the surprise package of the Ellerslie season, former Hong Kong galloper Meaningful Star, will be saved for the Zabeel too at the track he is thriving on since joining their stable.
Ageon’s trainer Andrew Forsman says the quick back-up after racing last Saturday wouldn’t suit his veteran stable star while the Lance Noble-trained pair of Jaarfii and Habana are also missing this weekend, Habana having to go for a spell after a setback.
With so many big-money races programmed for the summer and a Group 1 being staged most weekends until April, some serious races are going to miss out on some of the elite gallopers.
This Saturday’s feature will still have some class, with other Group 1 winners like Ladies Man and One Bold Cat still possible entries.
“But there are so many big-money races now you can’t go to them all,” says trainer Lance Noble.
“It is a nice problem to have.”
As for Noble, his in-form sprinting mare Luberon will go straight into the Telegraph at Trentham on January 4 after a Pukekohe trial in two weeks, with last summer’s sprint queen Bonny Lass also heading to the Telegraph but via the Concorde at Ellerslie this Saturday.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
