Racing: Team keeps mare lined up for Wellington Cup

Lilakyn is pressing on towards the Wellington Cup.

The Hastings-trained mare finished last, when favourite, in last Saturday's $80,000 Manawatu Cup (2300m) but tests this week have failed to find anything amiss.

"She seems absolutely fine," trainer Guy Lowry said.

"She ate up after the race and we had her scoped and her blood done and everything was perfect."

Lilakyn has had an easy week but Lowry will continue with plans to race the Danehill mare in the $60,000 Marton Cup (2200m) at Awapuni on January 14 as a lead-up to the $250,000 Wellington Cup (3200m) at Trentham Gardens on January 28.

"We will just have to put it down to her having an off day and the [wet] track," Lowry said.

"There are no signs that anything is wrong but they can't talk to you, so you can never be certain.

"She did everything right going into the race - she was very relaxed in the mounting yard - but did quite a few things wrong in the race."

Lowry said that was in contrast to her previous start when she won the $45,000 Wanganui Cup (2400m) on November 26 to complete a hat-trick of wins.

"She relaxed beautifully in the Wanganui Cup but the way she pulled on Saturday, she was never going to finish the race off, regardless of the track conditions.

"She has become very relaxed in her work and we might have to keep her thinking a bit.

"We will do some beach work with her and will probably give her a gallop between races before the Marton Cup."

The silver lining in the cloud surrounding Lilakyn's performance is that her rating has dropped to 100 while Manawatu Cup winner All Square had his rating raised to 99.

Lilakyn carried 3kg more than All Square at Awapuni but if the pair was racing against each other this week there would be a maximum of 0.5kg between them.

Lowry had hoped for better luck at Otaki yesterday with his promising 3-year-old fillies Benidouna and Tzarina Star. Both started favourite but were unplaced.

Latest fixed odds on the $250,000 Wellington Cup: $10 Envoy, Zabeat; $12 Cluden Creek, Art Success, Trebla, Lilakyn; $14 Northern Beau, Pretorious; $16 Gorgeous George, Viz Vitae, Aeroforce One; $20 Partee, From Heaven, Three Chimneys, Filante Etoile, Floscula, Arreviderci; $25 Garrard, Kajema, Willy Smith, Nicholman; $30 Lord Asterix, Miles; $35 Mistrale, Spit 'N' Polish, Madame Shinko, Meggido; $40 Dimondsontheinside; $50 Art Link, Counter Punch, Vision, Jaunt; $60 Cut The Cake, Showgirl, Puccini's Opera, Fountain Abbey, Peron, Empyreal, Clarissa, Killarney Lad, Medit King, Waitoki Dream; $80 El Duce; $100 Wine Oh, Wolf Pack, Its All Good, Bejayjay, Live The Reality, Ravanelli, Starbo, Moby, Lord Tioga, Uluru, King James, Imhappyaboutthat, Ultramarine, Fine Effort; $150 The Bey, Sweet Torque, Waikatea, Iced Legacy, Florence May, First Wind, Penthouse Blue, Bawl.

- NZPA