Takanini trainer Bruce McLeod has his sights set on a treble of northern winter cups with his fine mudlark Watch Officer.
Watch Officer landed the first of those cups when scoring a strong win in the Rotorua Cup on May 12 and he will tackle the second of his cups treble at Tauranga tomorrow when contesting the $40,000 Carter Holt Harvey Packaging Kiwifruit Cup.
And should Watch Officer succeed in the listed 2170m event he will head to Te Rapa on July 28 in search of the last leg of the cups treble, the listed $40,000 Taumarunui New World Gold Cup over 2100m.
Watch Officer already has a Taumarunui Gold Cup to his credit, having taken the feature three years ago, and McLeod feels he is back to the top form he showed that season.
"It was obvious right from the start [of this campaign] that he was right back to his best," McLeod said. "He had that bad virus a couple of seasons ago and last year he only came right at the end of winter when he won at Ellerslie."
Watch Officer went two years without success, but now has three wins to his credit this term. And there seems more in store on the flat before McLeod is tempted to try him as a jumper again.
In the meantime Watch Officer looks set to make an impact in the Kiwifruit Cup.
- NZPA
Racing: Watch Officer likely winter cups treble prospect
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