Racing: Black Oak will be tough at Rotorua

Fair to say The Black Oak hasn't been the easiest horse to follow.

Full of promise one moment, full of something completely different the next.

But there is no denying his talent and his last-start fresh up Otaki victory suggests trainer Karen Zimmerman may have The Black Oak sorted out.

If so, they're going to have a job on their hands with him in Race 8 in Rotorua, even though he's stepping up from R70 to R80 class. He'll quickly be looking for further than today's 1400m, but he was fresh from a break last start and should have retained sufficient freshness for this.

He's drawn out a bit, but being a long strider he's probably better off out a bit than jammed up on the rail.

Master Guru (No3, R2) might be a good way to start the day. He reared coming out of the gates when only seventh last start at Tauranga and before that he didn't get too many favours early then sat parked to finish third.

He comes into this nice and fresh and if there remains a little yield in the track today he should be well suited from a good barrier. Special Steps (No2) is probably going to be suited by the step from 1200m to 1400m and has also drawn well.

You sometimes get what you deserve when you bet on highweights, but Stalking (No1, R3) looks the right way to go here. He's got 69.5kg topweight, but he has won five races, which is a much better record than the opposition.

He also has Jonathan Riddell to help him and he's in great form. Steel (No3) was disappointing when fourth in a moderate field at Tauranga last start, but may do better here stepping up to a middle distance.

You'd be a lot happier around Prix Du Sang (No7, R4) if the distance was further than today's 1560m. But there's liable to be a fair bit of pace on in this race and she might just get away with it.

She's dropping back from group one weight-for-age to carrying 54kg (57kg last time) in R90, and that's about as big a drop as you can make. The smallish field will help. Loose Change (No3) and Don Domingo (No8) will be no pushovers.

The 3-year-old race is a little confusing, but perhaps the key might be the 1kg Rosie Myers will take off Hawkes Bay Cat (No2, R5). His form has been outstanding in its consistency and it took Spera to run him down in the last stride at Hastings last start. Spera, on a Queensland campaign, would be too good for this field.

Indikator (No5, R7) looks a great each-way bet in the Rotorua Cup. He has a touch of class as a stayer and a little bit of yield in this track would suit him perfectly.

This is a lot stronger field than the one he beat last start at Tauranga, but he had to overcome difficulties to score that day. Veloce Bella (No2), Tinseltown (No4), Vickezzchardonnay (No10) and El Presidente (No12) are all chances in a wide open line-up.

Martini Red (No2, R9) went a beaut to finish third at Ellerslie last start for a mare that was returning from retirement and hadn't raced for a long time. She may have hit the front a shade soon and did well to be beaten only one length.

She had to be improved for that and although drawn wide at the 1400m she has Michael Coleman's cool head to guide her. Rendzina (No3) has a very unfortunate barrier because she has shown everyone how underrated she is in New Zealand. If she gets any sort of luck she can still be in it.