Racing: Katie Lee may tackle NZ Derby

Katie Lee (No 1) just holds off November Rain at Te Rapa on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

Like all true Irishmen, Sir Patrick Hogan gets philosophical without too much prompting.

It was there in the Te Rapa birdcage on Saturday after remarkable filly Katie Lee won the $100,000 Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies Classic.

"I'm sure I'm remembering this right that Bart Cummings said to me years ago that turn a filly or mare out for too long and they start laying fat in the gut that you can never get out.

"And my father told me one time that you should never spell a horse for too long."

Which might lead to Katie Lee running in the $2.2 million Telecom New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie.

The Hogan quote was in response to the press questioning him whether Katie Lee was Derby-bound.

The decision lies between Hogan and trainers Debbie and Graeme Rogerson.

"If I had my way she'd be running," said Graeme Rogerson.

"It's Patrick's call," said his wife.

When told of his trainers' willingness, even desire, to run in the Derby, Hogan inquired with a smile: "Did they also say I was the boss?"

He will make a call shortly.

By way of explanation as to how he will make that call on the filly he calls a bitch, he said: "Every Tuesday we take her blood to ensure that the attributes in her temperament are unchanged.

"I'm always mindful that she's been in work since June and even earlier this week I was wondering if I was doing the right thing with her."

Helping in that regard is that Katie Lee has a truly stunning constitution - regardless of how many races she has she always looks as if the next one will improve her.

"I remember when we took her to Riccarton for the 1000 Guineas and 2000 Guineas, good trainers like Kevin Gray came up and said: 'I can see that you've left a lot in her for the last day'.

"The next week they came back and couldn't believe she hadn't dropped weight."

The luck of the Irish was in place for Katie Lee.

Mark Du Plessis replaced a suspended Opie Bosson and he moved Katie Lee off a mid-field inside rail position just before Translated broke a hind leg, dropped back instantly and disrupted the entire second half of the field.

The result could have been disastrous if Katie Lee had remained directly behind Translated.

The camp left riding tactics entirely to Du Plessis, who called Debbie Rogerson on Friday night to tell her he'd worked out a game plan.

In his birdcage speech, Hogan thanked Du Plessis and also gave great credit to Opie Bosson.

"I think Opie has ridden this filly superbly. A couple of times she got too far back in running, but that was because we wanted to do that to see if she would run on and we could eventually run her at distances beyond 1600m.

"Personally, I think the jockeys go too soon on her, but they probably know what they're doing."

Katie Lee made a certainty of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly Of The Year series with the victory. It had been a target Patrick Hogan had insisted on continuing with.

November Rain continued her form improvement by chasing hard and nearly catching Katie Lee.

November Rain is not nominated for the $300,000 Wellfield Oaks at Trentham and trainer Richard Collett said no decision has been made on the filly's programme going for-ward.

With no Zarzuela and Katie Lee almost certain not to start, the Oaks would seem a natural target for November Rain.

The 2400m would be a perfect step for her.

The late entry fee for the Oaks is $6750 and for the $2.2 million Telecom Derby, $66,000, which includes the $18,000 final withdrawal fee.

Those runners affected when Translated broke down included November Rain, Veronica Franco, Corsage, Prairie Star, Keep The Peace, Miss Sharipova, Marsh Harbour, Pezzaglia and Barbara Michelle all being checked to varying degrees.