KEY POINTS:
Sheryl McGlade believes Crown Dancer would still have won yesterday's $13,000 Opus International Steeplechase at Paeroa even if Loki had not crashed at the last fence.
Loki seemed certain to win when he dashed past the pacemaking Crown Dancer coming up to the home turn, but raced erratically into the last jump and fell heavily.
Remarkably, Loki did the same thing in the same race last year - also won by Crown Dancer - the only difference being that his rider that day, Lance MacFarlane, was on the winner this time.
"I know it looked as though Loki was going to win, but the strength that Crown Dancer showed in the run from the last fence indicated that it might have been an interesting finish," said McGlade.
The Cambridge trainer is certain of only one assignment for Crown Dancer this preparation - the Rotorua Hunt Cup.
"It's a $50,000 stake this year because it's an anniversary of the race, but that's not until July. She won't go to the Waikato Steeplechase on Saturday. We'll start Bart in that - that's why she started here to keep them apart, and to support the club for putting on a steeplechase.
"She'll probably go to Ellerslie at Queen's Birthday weekend, but I'm not convinced she's an Ellerslie horse."
Yesterday's hurdle winner, Grani, will almost certainly go to Saturday's $50,000 Dunstan Feeds Waikato Hurdles at Te Rapa.
The lineup is impressive. Yesterday's Rotorua and New Plymouth flat winners Van Winkle and Blase are expected to show up, as are the first three home in the lead-up at Te Rapa last week: Norville Prince, Southerner Dan Moran and Just Not Cricket.
* Trainer Shaune Ritchie won the battle over the immediate future of Zerello.
The underrated mare gained her first stakes win in Saturday's $60,000 Rotorua Stakes, and her Australian owners were keen on a Queensland winter campaign.
Ritchie was much more inclined to want to spell Zerello and has convinced his owners of the benefits.
"She's had a long season and come a long way.
"If she goes out now she can have eight weeks with her head in the grass and for at least the first half of that there'll be a lot of protein in the grass.
"There is good money in the fillies and mares races in the new season and if she went to Queensland she'd miss some of that."
Reese Jones gave her the perfect run behind the lead on Saturday and had to ride her hard in the closing stages to keep out Electrostatic, who fought back bravely.
