Racing: It could be a long trip back home

Grant Shaw. Photo / NZ Herald

It's a long way to go from Auckland to Kumara to have your horse put on the emergency list.

That's the issue Waiuku trainer Grant Shaw faces with Noble Warrior in tomorrow's $30,000 Kumara Nuggets.

Noble Warrior is the first emergency, but for a level of stakemoney they rarely think of in the area, the chances of there being a scratching are not enormous.

Grant Shaw doesn't have a cellphone and, anyway, they pretty much don't work in Kumara, so it's difficult to know what he thinks of the situation.

What's certain is that things haven't been going well, overall, for the horse or its trainer.

Two starts back Noble Warrior covered an enormous amount of extra ground before being beaten half a length by Sir Jack Gunno, who went on to frank that form with his placed effort in Saturday's $100,000 Rich Hill Stakes at Ellerslie.

Last start on the wet middle day of the Ellerslie carnival he was badly hampered by the winner, Worthing, for the entire last 300m, creating an inquiry.

The JCA did not change the placings, but the interference was sufficiently serious to earn winning rider Andrew Calder a five raceday suspension.

If Noble Warrior gets back into the field he is a top hope.

The gelding by Le Bec Fin also has form on wet footing, having won on a slow track over 1600m at Matamata on October 29.

He also quit maidens at Pukekohe on similar going.