KEY POINTS:
Whether Gaze goes forward to the $2 million Kelt Capital Stakes will probably be decided in the next 24 hours.
And critical to that decision will be whether the mare takes her place in the Jim & John Evans Stakes at Pukekohe on Sunday.
Cambridge trainer Roger James needs to be assured Gaze has a decent chance of making the Kelt line-up before committing her to a start on a track that is certain to still be rain-affected on Sunday.
James said yesterday he was frustrated by Gaze missing out on getting a start in either of the first two legs of the Hastings spring treble, the $250,000 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes and Saturday's $250,000 Stoney Bridge Stakes.
Gaze was balloted out of the Mudgway and again requires two scratchings to make the Stoney Bridge field on Saturday.
"It's a very difficult situation watching these rich races going on without being able to get a start with a mare like Gaze," said James yesterday. "There is no refund for the payments.
"If it looks like we're not going to get a start in the Kelt, I don't think I need to be running her around on a rain-affected track at Pukekohe on Sunday."
Diamond Deck became the first Stoney Bridge emergency when a decision was made yesterday morning to take Magic Cape to Hastings rather than have his final Kelt Capital lead-up at Pukekohe.
"I simply couldn't afford to have him run on a testing track two weeks out from a $2 million race," said his trainer Shaune Ritchie.
"Even though the class is much stronger in the Stoney Bridge, the horse will come out of that race better because of the track conditions.
"And it will give me a much better guide to where I am [in comparison] with the other horses for the Kelt."
The TAB yesterday switched the Stoney Bridge betting over from futures to final field and the barrier draw saw few changes to the betting line-up.
Probably the worst affected by the draw were the Murray and Bjorn Baker pair of Nom Du Jeu and Rios, who drew gates Nos 13 and 11 at the awkward Hastings 1600m barrier.
The likely option, particularly from barrier 13, is probably to drop back, but both horses can race comfortably at the rear of the field if necessary.
Fritzy Boy (barrier 10), Red Ruler (5) and Keepa Cruisin (7) look to be reasonably well off, but Bulginbaah could get buried early if he does not jump reasonably well from his No 2 gate.
TAB bookmaker Thad Taylor said $4 favourite Fritzy Boy and second favourite Nom Du Jeu continued to be the best backed runners.
"Surprisingly, there is little or no interest in Princess Coup at $6.
"The main ones specked at longer odds are The Pooka and Ombre Rose."
Taylor said there were a couple of punters holding tickets on Fritzy Boy to win all three legs of the treble at $520 to $1.
Gaze is missing out because New Zealand suddenly has an extraordinary number of top-class horses, something even the panel on TV programme Australian Retro noted at the weekend.
New Zealand is heading back towards the golden days of the 1970s for the depth of talent.
A thumb through the fields for the 1975-76 season reveals Balmerino, March Legend, Mop, Tudor Light, Blue Blood, Grey Way, Soliloquy, La Mer, Battle Eve, Happy Union, Oranmore, Ballybrit, Vice Regal, Shifnal Chief, Fury's Order, and Perhaps competing at the top level.
Imagine a race with that mob.
The change of plans for Magic Cape is bad luck for Te Awamutu trainer Robert Priscott, who was hoping to get his smart mare Diamond Deck into the field.
The hugely-talented and still lightly-tried mare had a recent bone chip operation, but has bounced back from it quickly.
However, if she is to run in the Kelt, a run this weekend is vital to her preparation and she is not only first on the ballot at Hastings, but also the first emergency for the Evans Classic at Pukekohe.
* Last night's TAB odds, with barrier draws in brackets: Fritzy Boy (10) $3.60; Nom Du Jeu (13) $6.50; Princess Coup (12) $6; Red Ruler (5) $8.50; Rios (11) $9; Diamond Deck (6, 1st em) $11; Bulginbaah (2) $12; Keepa Cruisin (7) $14; Prince Kaapstad (3), Sterling Prince (16), Insouciant (8) $21; Magic Cape (4), Ombre Rose (1), The Pooka (9) $26; Gaze (17, 2nd em) $31; Mufhasa (14, 3rd em) $41; Run Like Al (15) $51.
- NZPA
