Racing: Rogerson hoping for reasonable footing

Lion Tamer is on trial for a trip to Sydney at Te Rapa on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

Trainer Debbie Rogerson is prepared to cross fingers with Te Rapa course manager Neil Treweek over the forecast rain late tomorrow for Hamilton.

Rogerson says for the sake of high-class act Katie Lee she would love to see the rain set in after the $70,000 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate.

Despite a remarkable career, Katie Lee has been beaten in all three of her career races on significantly rain-affected tracks, but even that is not Rogerson's main worry.

"Having a hard race first-up on a wet track is not good for any horse," said the Waikato trainer yesterday.

Neil Treweek said the Te Rapa track was yesterday probably a fraction better than the official slow 8 reading on New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing's website, thanks to fine weather and a decent breeze yesterday.

"If it stayed like this tomorrow it would come in another point for sure, then it would be up to whatever the rain does on Friday."

Rain apart, Rogerson says she is delighted with every aspect of how Katie Lee has prepared for her 4-year-old season.

"She's a lot more forward than when she resumed in the spring as a 3-year-old last year." In that resuming run last spring, Katie Lee finished third to St Germaine and Eileen Dubh in the Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings.

"We knew it was going to be an earlier start this year, so we brought her in that much earlier.

"I was very pleased with her exhibition gallop between races at Ruakaka last Friday. The trip up there did her a lot of good."

St Germaine will again be a rival on Saturday.

She has worked up well for her new preparation and trainer John Sargent was well satisfied with her solo gallop at Te Rapa late last week. St Germaine has shown several times she appreciates a rain-affected track and is expected to figure prominently in the Foxbridge Plate.

Co-trainer Murray Baker says he will run 3-year-old Lion Tamer in the Foxbridge Plate if the colt gets back in the field from his position as first ballot, rather than run him in the R80 1200m.

Baker said the stable is keen to try and get Lion Tamer to the Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick in the first week in October and the young galloper needs racing.

"I'm very pleased with the way he's come back this season."

Baker has just returned from 3 weeks in South America.

"I went racing in Santiago - 19 races starting at 2.00pm and finishing at 10.00pm. Not a bad track, with a 650m run in from the turn and not bad stakemoney."

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Cambridge-based jockey David Walsh has decided to base himself in Christchurch at least until the NZ Cup Carnival in November.

"Fifty per cent of my winning rides last season were in the South Island so it makes sense to base myself there and not have to travel as much.

"I haven't been getting the support from the northern stables.

"I got 300 rides last season, but that's not enough. You have to be getting rides from one of the bigger stables to be successful.

"I'll be riding work for John Sargent's new Christchurch stable."

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You could run a decent race meeting with the class of horse racing at the Te Teko trials today.

Harris Tweed, Keep The Peace, Six O'Clock News, Alagant Satin, Obsession, Vincent Mangano, Ginga Dude, The Diamond Duke and Young Centaur are all down to trial.

The meeting replaces the Te Teko barrier trials washed away by last week's heavy rain.