Racing: Do-or-die for Dude

Graeme Boyd will have navigated his way through a minefield and be well out the other side if Ginga Dude wins the $200,000 Land Pride Easter Handicap at Ellerslie on Saturday.

It will have been a bumpy road to get there.

Ever since Ginga Dude was spelled after running in the group one Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, the specific target has been to try for an invitation to the S$3 million ($3.45 million) Singapore Cup next month.

He was first aimed towards winning the Japan/NZ International at Tauranga for the second year on end.

But Ginga Dude was taken down by the inoculations required by quarantine regulations and failed to raise anything like the effort he'd produced at the Cambridge trials a week earlier.

Desperate to get his charge back on track, Boyd lined Ginga Dude up in an unscheduled 1600m at Ellerslie two weeks ago and he bolted in under 58kg.

Boyd was unsuccessful in attempting to have the second - and final - injections delayed until after the Easter Handicap and Ginga Dude was inoculated last week.

"His breathing came down again like it had after the first round," said Boyd yesterday.

"The weekend was the worst. After his work he'd take these short, stabby breaths."

But yesterday morning ex-jockey Terissa McDonald, who rides Ginga Dude regularly in trackwork, said his wind seemed fine again.

"It seems to come and go a bit, so hopefully this is the end of it," said Boyd.

"The gallop this morning was exceptional and Terissa said it's the best he's felt for her."

The Easter is do-or-die for the gelding's Asian campaign.

The Singapore Cup has attracted perhaps its best international field in the past decade and Ginga Dude would need to win on Saturday to have any chance of being considered by the Singapore Turf Club.

Befitting an Easter Handicap, the field is very even at the top and luck in running will be crucial. If he receives that, Ginga Dude can win.

Promising Occidentalis, perfectly placed on 51.5kg, appeals as the best lightweight.

My Astron has got the better of Occidentalis in each of their past two starts, winning narrowly on both occasions.

My Astron gave Occidentalis 2kg and beat him a head at Ellerslie two starts back, then gave him 3kg at Tauranga in the Japan/NZ Trophy and finished a neck and a short neck in front.

The mitigating factor there was that Occidentalis had a fight on his hands all the way up the home straight with gallant pacemaker Sir Slick, which left the last run to My Astron.

With no Sir Slick in the race, a different result might have been seen.

This time the difference in weights is 4.5kg and with equal luck you'd have to fancy Occidentalis to finish in front of the underrated visitor.

Rios and Australian mare Dane Julia are strong winning hopes.

Rios looked stunning in making a winning resumption at Te Rapa a few weeks back.

He has been given ample time to recover from that and with 53kg looks nicely placed to make a bid for his first group one victory.

This will be an entirely different type of race to the Breeders Stakes Dane Julia won at Te Aroha last weekend.

For a start, she takes on the males. And Ellerslie is not an easy course to adapt to when racing there for the first time in group one company.

She is accustomed to the big, flat courses like Flemington in Melbourne and previously in South Africa.

But her record shows she races best this right-handed way around and she can finish off with a devastating sprint.

Pinsoir and Maximum Star represent class and can make Saturday's finish interesting.

EVEN LINE-UP
* Befitting its time-honoured status, this Easter is a remarkably even line-up.
* Ginga Dude has been battling the effects of his overseas inoculations, but appears to have come right at the right time.
* Occidentalis looks a dangerous lightweight with just 51.5kg.