Rain to Arduous is like rice to Asians and grass to horses.
She loves it.
Owner Dave Smith and trainer Ralph Manning are confident they can prove one day Arduous is not simply a mudder, and they may well achieve that.
Meantime, let's wallow in the fact the Cambridge mare loves wallowing in the slush and mud, as she can prove with a big effort in today's $30,000 Rotorua Stakes.
If stats are your thing, Arduous is your horse today - she is unbeaten in two starts in the heavy and has won two of her three starts at Rotorua.
The formline looks ordinary, but she has had only two starts so far this campaign and has struck tracks a bit too firm for her. Her sixth placing behind Kasman at Te Rapa last start was a huge effort. She was making ground strongly from the back in a very fast-run race.
Fast will not be how they describe the tempo in any of the races at Rotorua today and that alone will make it much more comfortable for Arduous.
Watch for a massively improved effort from Party Queen in today's conditions. The big mare has improved her fitness with recent racing.
If Money Machine (No1, R6) starts in the jumpers' flat instead of the Rotorua Cup he should be a leg of the treble in. He beat nothing winning at Avondale last start, but he was very impressive and the change from a firm track to heavy conditions will not worry him. Cool Conductor (No3) is the improver.
There is always a niggling doubt about fitness over a horse having its first start back from a spell in conditions likely today's, but Sharif (No2, R2) could be an exception. He has a touch of class, seems able to handle the worst of rain-affected tracks and easily won a trial at Cambridge last month. In the conditions, the wide barrier draw may not be as big a disadvantage as it looks. Burdekin House (No13) landed a bit of a bet when he made a winning debut on this track last August and could be the surprise fresh from a break.
Akela (No1, R4) deserves a winning chance and if she can get through the ground, this should be her turn. She has been unlucky enough to run into horses as smart as Wills and Dubai Traveller in her only two starts and has nothing like that to beat here.
Pyramus (No5, R5) has not raced at Rotorua and not every horse handles the track, but he has so much potential as a coming stayer he deserves to be favourite again today. He looked stylish driving clear to win at Ellerslie last start. He has no real form on rain-affected tracks, but his sire Beau Zam was a toff in the wet. Watch for a big effort from Oliverdance (No10).
You have to tip Classify (No2, R7) in the Rotorua Cup. Like Arduous, his stats tell a real story - three from three at Rotorua and two from three in the heavy stuff. He'll keep going forever, and that could be crucial today. Don't forget how good Blown Away (No4) was in the wet last winter and remember, too, that Strauss's Delight (No5) can handle it heavy as well as firm.
British Version (No3, R8) was making ground nicely behind Sunrise Girl at Te Rapa last start and with wet track form she makes some appeal.
Racing: Rotorua stats pick Arduous
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