Racing: Topweight an ideal banker

Pukekohe apprentice Jason Collett won't mind if yesterday's rain continues through today and tomorrow.

The talented apprentice has just returned from two weeks with leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller and would like to celebrate his return with his first feature ride back - Montjee in tomorrow's $45,000 Amcor Kiwifruit Cup at Tauranga.

Collett has not ridden Montjee since November, but knows the horse well and feels he needs only a loose wet track to prove very hard to beat.

Annually, the northern cluster of race clubs sponsor a young rider on a two-week stay with former New Zealander Waller and Jason Collett said the trip was something of an eye-opener for him.

"Chris, as we know, is a very good trainer. He's got an amazing operation - he had 85 horses in work when I was there with five more racing at the Queensland carnival and it was the quiet time of the year.

"The horses started working at 4.20am and were all finished at 7-7.30am." Collett rode two winners at a Sunday meeting on the Sapphire Coast and missed by a head in making it a treble.

Last start, Montjee finished fourth, running home late behind runaway winner Amirar at Te Rapa.

"Last year, he won two straight at Matamata on wet, loose tracks and after that he kept running placings on sticky tracks when they were running about a second too fast for him.

"If he can get loose footing this time he should be right in it."

It's never easy to carry big weights on heavy winter tracks, but remarkable mudder Strapped For Cash is still the horse they all have to beat.

His 58.5kg - clear topweight by 2kg - looks formidable, but the last time he and Montjee met Strapped For Cash carried 59kg and won, narrowly beating the Matamata gelding, who had 52kg.

This time he has half a kilo less and Montjee has the same weight.

Strapped For Cash is good in the wet. He has the remarkable record of five wins from six starts on officially heavy tracks.

The wetter Tauranga - which yesterday was rated as a heavy (10) - gets the better he will be suited.

Thames mare Kiri is never an everyday horse, but she is good when she produces her best.

She scored nicely in the Cornwall Handicap at Ellerslie last start and has won on the Tauranga course - always a plus factor.

You can make a for-and-against case for just about the remainder of the field, not that half a dozen of them would not be fine chances with peak performances.

KIWIFRUIT CUP
* Strapped For Cash, despite his 58.5kg topweight, is a big chance.
* On a loose track the danger would be Montjee.
* He will be ridden by apprentice Jason Collett, who is just back from a two-week stay with Sydney trainer Chris Waller.