KEY POINTS:
Stephen McKee's interest in a speedy end to the Australian horse-flu outbreak should intensify after racing at Ruakaka today.
The McKee-trained Pierre Joseph is scheduled to have his last run in New Zealand before a group-race raid on early Aussie spring riches.
His assignments include the group three A$175,000 Spring Stakes (1600m) next-up at Newcastle on September 19, followed by the group one A$400,000 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on October 6.
But McKee isn't pressing the panic button just yet, preferring to take a wait-and-see approach on how long Australia's equine borders stay shut.
"We can't do much about it [the flu lockdown] at this stage," the Ardmore trainer said yesterday. "If they put things back we'll just have to stay here longer and look at races like the Hawkes Bay Guineas with him."
McKee says the $420,000 yearling purchase is screaming out for early spring tests over longer distances - 1600m and further. That's why he brought the highly-rated Redoute's Choice colt back to racing so early as a 3-year-old.
McKee wasn't surprised the $1.40 hot-shot made heavy work of his maiden class graduation over 1200m at Ruakaka on August 3.
Pierre Joseph, who was flat to beat Gimmee Magic by a short head, resumed without a trial, but could never find a six-furlong race long enough as a race-fit juvenile.
Even today's 1400m rivals could be too quick.
But yesterday McKee was looking to make the job easier by scratching the dual-accepted Pierre Joseph from the R70 1400m in favour of a 4kg weight-relief against R80 opponents.
McKee is also hoping a pull in the handicap could be enough for stablemate Show Lad to upset another potential Aussie star - Uberalles, in the day's feature, the Team Tait Real Estate 1600.
The Mark Walker-trained 4-year-old is fresh from her Mercedes Derby third and en-route to possible runs in both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.
Uberalles resumed with a second to stablemate Princess Coup in a 1300m trial at Taupo on August 21.
But McKee is confident his course-winner is ready to exploit any fitness chinks in the favourite.
"If the favourite [Uberalles] is at her best you wouldn't expect to beat her, but from a good draw he [Show Lad] should be right in the thick of it."
Boundless (race four) and Fun Spoiler (race six) should be the best of the other McKee runners.
Boundless, a last-start Ruakaka placegetter over 1000m, will appreciate the step up to 1400m.
The McKee-owned Fun Spoiler has been freshened since a costly failure on the course in July over 1200m when he was just run down.
Fun Spoiler ran two unlucky seconds at Ruakaka in his previous two starts over the same trip.
