KEY POINTS:
It's a battle of two in the $270,000 Coupland's Mile at Riccarton tomorrow as far as Taranaki trainer Allan Sharrock is concerned.
He is represented by Wahid in the group two 1600m race and rival Dorabella is undoubtedly the horse for Wahid to beat, Sharrock said.
Wahid was last night a $2.60 favourite on the New Zealand TAB's fixed-odds market and Dorabella $3.40. They dominate betting to the extent that Dezigna was third favourite at $12.
And Sharrock said it was hard to argue against the odds.
"As the betting suggests it does look a race in two," Sharrock told NZPA.
"Nothing against the opposition, but in my opinion they should fight it out."
Sharrock said the key to the pair's dominance was their position in the weights.
Wahid, winner of the group one races of the Levin Classic (1600m) and the New Zealand Derby (2400m) as a three-year-old, has a handicap of 54.5kg - 3.5kg less than topweight Dezigna.
Dorabella, winner of the last year's One Thousand Guineas and the Captain Cook Stakes at her last start, has 53kg.
Added Sharrock: "He's (Wahid) well in at the weights but the horse to beat is well in the weights too. It's not going to be an easy race."
Wahid won six races as a three-year-old but did not add to that tally as a four-year-old last season.
Sharrock revealed Wahid had strained tendons behind two knees after he finished sixth in the group one $200,000 Thorndon Mile Handicap (1600m) at Trentham last January.
"He cantered up to Sir Slick in the Thorndon but didn't let down," Sharrock recalled.
"He blew excessively after the race and we had him vetted."
The tendon strains were detected and Sharrock said he was advised to give the horse a three-month break.
"We gave him five months. He's had a long, slow prep and it's worked out well."
Wahid resumed racing with a useful sixth at Hastings on October 13 and a fortnight later recaptured something like his form of old with an easy win in a 1400m open handicap at Ellerslie.
"His work on the Tuesday before the race was a clear sign he was back to his best," Sharrock said.
Leith Innes, who rode Wahid at Ellerslie, retains the mount tomorrow while Michael Walker rides Dorabella.
Hayden Tinsley rode Dorabella to victory in the $100,000 Captain Cook at Trentham on October 27 but is unable to make the mare's weight tomorrow and he was to have been replaced by Mark Du Plessis.
Du Plessis, however, has since been stood down from riding after taking a fall in a race and Walker was next in line.
Dorabella could not have been more impressive in the Captain Cook. She left star mare Seachange in her wake in the 1600m weight-for-age group one race as she raced clear to score by 3-1/4 lengths.
It was Dorabella's second win for high profile Auckland real estate agent Don Ha, who purchased the horse a few months earlier for a six figure sum.
Ha made a bigger splash at the beginning of the year, buying a Zabeel colt out of champion mare Sunline for $2 million at the National Yearling Sales at Karaka.
- NZPA
