Jockey Opie Bosson thinks Prise De Fer could make it back-to-back Group 1 wins on Boxing Day.
The perennial big-race placegetter finally broke through for his first Group 1 at Trentham last start and is a chance for his second in the Zabeel Classic at Pukekohe on Monday, and Bosson liked what he saw in Matamata trackwork on Wednesday.
“He was right in the zone, the best I have felt him for a long time,” Bosson said. “So he should be hard to beat again on Monday.”
Although Prise De Fer has been beaten in plenty of Group 1s, he finds himself in one without a superstar rival on Monday. While favourite Sinarahma also looks in career-best form, Prise De Fer beat her two starts ago.
The 2050m distance is probably at the end of Prise De Fer’s range but the Zabeel doesn’t look set to be hard-run so the son of Savabeel would be the one to beat if, as looks increasingly likely, the rain doesn’t arrive and Pukekohe stays on the better side of a soft5.