Cambridge stayer Excalibur booked his place in the rich Dunstan Feeds Stayers Championship Final (2200m) at Ellerslie on New Year's Day with a gritty victory at Te Rapa on Saturday.
The Tavistock four-year-old needed a good performance to lift himself into a guaranteed starting position at Ellerslie. He achieved that in style as he outfinished a pair of potential Dunstan Championship rivals in Model Aye and Te Waewae Bay to capture the 2100m contest.
Trainer Shaune Ritchie was delighted to see his charge buckle down and fight hard in the concluding stages as he admitted the horse was still a work in progress with his racing manners. "It was a good tough win as he can be a very difficult horse to ride," he said.
"He has plenty of ability, but it has taken a while for his manners to catch up. He can do plenty wrong during his races and it did look like he wanted to knock off when he hit the front on Saturday so he's certainly not the finished product just yet.
"He is tough though and can stay all day, so you would think with his breeding he will only get better as he gets older."
