There is improvement in Playful Fingers and there will need to be.
The producer of Saturday's gamest run in racing is heading for the equivalent of an Olympic final in the $40,000 Highview Stakes at Hastings on Saturday week.
Meeting the Mercedes Outstanding Juvenile of the old season in Spring Rain will be several steps up the class ladder from Saturday, but Playful Fingers will be several rungs up the fitness ladder as well.
"I can't believe she came back and won that after she was headed," said an co-trainer Craig Ritchie after Playful Fingers showed courage was an irreplaceable commodity in the $25,000 Waikato Stud Stakes.
Ritchie sent Playful Fingers to Wanganui knowing her fitness was vulnerable after a deep seated stone bruise cost her a valuable Ruakaka barrier trial.
"She ran 1000m in 1.7.5 at Takanini on Tuesday morning, which is nothing for her, and because she was floating to Wanganui on Friday I couldn't do much with her on Thursday.
"It was not an ideal preparation for ground so testing and the way she fought back was just fabulous."
Palliser Bay clearly headed Playful Fingers on the outside with 240m left and rider Michael Coleman joined Ritchie in believing this was not their day.
"It was only heart and guts that allowed her to kick back that well," said Ritchie.
Michael Coleman confirmed yesterday the filly had indicated her lack of fitness by blowing heavily as she was pulling up.
Considering Playful Fingers had to do a fair bit of work to get across and lead from a wide barrier, it was the performance of a filly right up to the best class.
"It's a rarity for a horse with her brilliant gate speed to be able to show so much fight at the end of her races," said Ritchie.
Playful Fingers was unplaced behind Spring Rain when the Matamata filly won easily at Avondale on January, but she was found to be slightly shin-sore afterwards and had already been heading for the spelling paddock.
Ritchie is not kidding himself Playful Fingers can beat Spring Rain without the luck factor balancing out the equation, but on a firm track at Hastings, the barrier draw, in what is certain to be a speed race, will be crucial.
He is keen for Playful Fingers to run at Hastings as a lead-up to the Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham.
"Trentham can be quiet heavy for that meeting and she'll need the racing going into it. She showed in winning this race that heavy, testing ground doesn't worry her."
A set of blinkers used for the first time made a huge difference when Playful Fingers scored a runaway win in the Champagne Stakes at Ellerslie in May, but Ritchie is keen to remove the blinkers before the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton.
"I don't think she'll see out 1600m at Riccarton wearing blinkers, so we have to make a decision when we try her again without them. We'll almost certainly leave them on for Hastings."
Trainer Roger James said yesterday Spring Rain will go into the Highview possibly as vulnerable in terms of fitness as Playful Fingers was on Saturday.
"I had hoped to give her a trial at Te Teko last week, but they cancelled them. I'm not prepared to turn the screw tightly on the training track and, anyway, you can only do what the weather will allow you to do.
"Her whole spring programme is aimed at her peaking for the 1000 Guineas in November."
Spring Rain proved she was precocious as a juvenile last season and up to winning fresh from a break, but she may be less so as a 3-year-old.
"I won't run her if I can't get her fit enough to be competitive."
Spring Rain will be James' first raceday runner for nine weeks.
"That's just about a record for my stable, but it's the way I organised it.
"I always intended that all the good horses would be aimed at Christmas racing then Australia in the autumn and the likes of Zonda, One Under and Spottswoode haven't even joined the stable yet."
Racing: Courage carries Playful Fingers home
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