Racing: Ready to Rockabubble

One of last season's excitement machines, Rockabubble, resumes in the $32,500 sprint at Te Rapa.

The big girl had a recent barrier trial at Avondale and tomorrow's 1400m puts her right in the race.

Rockabubble made a massive statement when in o nly a few weeks she leapt from dual progressive company victories to group one status with her dramatic victory in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha.

She was spelled after only one further start in which everything went wrong.

Rockabubble has already recorded a swift 1.22.32 for this distance at Te Rapa, and a simple repeat of that would put her right in this finish.

After things went astray in the 1200m Concorde, Jim Gibbs decided to race Devoted over more distance.

"He played up a bit at the start and missed the jump at Avondale and was never in the race after that," said Gibbs of Devoted.

"After this race I have to decide whether I freshen him up and take on the Railway at Ellerslie or whether I press on and step him up to 1600m.

"If I take the Railway option then there's only the one race for him because I didn't want to take him to Trentham for the Telegraph and I didn't nominate.

"The real money in the autumn is in the big mile races."

Leith Innes has been engaged for Devoted.

The 1400m is a good distance for La Sizeranne.

Her stakes win at that trip at Hawera two starts back was stylish and she lost nothing with her subsequent solid fourth to Cog Hill in the Couplands Bakeries Mile at Riccarton.

The better the track conditions the better the chance of Tadan producing his best form again.

Although the official rating was firm, the track at Riccarton on New Zealand Cup day was moving a little according to a number of riders and Tadan is unable to perform on anything other than very firm ground.

His best chance is if the rain stays away today.