The winning run of trainer Jamie Richards and the Te Akau Racing team continued at Tauranga yesterday when Byzantine scored over 1400m in rating 72 company.
Richards sits atop the National Trainer's Premiership ladder with 61 wins, nine clear of Cambridge conditioner Stephen Marsh and has been in a purple patch of form of late that saw him produce Prise De Fer to win the Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie on New Year's Day.
Savabeel 4-year-old Byzantine has proven to be a bit of a head-scratcher for Richards since winning stylishly in just his second start as a 2-year-old, mixing his efforts at times but always looking to have the ability to progress through the grades.
A winning run over 1200m in a similar grade at Hastings last start showed he was back to his best and he franked that victory yesterday with another professional display in the hands of Opie Bosson. Byzantine found a good kick when challenged in the run home before holding out a late charge from Salt Bay to score by a neck and register his fourth career victory from just 11 starts.
Richards' stable star Probabeel will also create plenty of attention at Awapuni tomorrow when she has her first start in NZ as a 3-year-old in a 1400m event.
