Racing: Wish lists for top fancies

The teams around the two favourites for tomorrow's $100,000 Travis Stakes at Te Rapa, Calveen and Rapid Kay, go into the race with a wish list.

Calveen's trainer Lance O'Sullivan and Noel Harris, who rides Rapid Kay, would both like circumstances to be a little different.

O'Sullivan is a bit concerned Calveen is a fraction jaded mentally for what will be her last start this campaign.

Noel Harris would like to see rain for Rapid Kay.

But neither are disregarding their chances.

"I think she'll be competitive," says O'Sullivan of Calveen, dashing winner of the $100,000 Japan/New Zealand Trophy at Tauranga last start.

"But like a few of the others in the field she's coming to the end of it this campaign, more mentally then physically. She's not peaking like she was for the Easter Handicap win, or even for Tauranga."

Calveen has shown a preference for tracks with a little yield, which she struck for both her last two wins. Te Rapa was yesterday rated at 2.2 firm, but since undergoing the sand slitting procedure, it is a track which provided a natural yield, even without rain.

"She can handle Te Rapa. She bolted in there earlier this season." Calveen's Te Rapa record is three starts for two wins and a placing.

Rapid Kay has not raced since finishing a good sixth in Calveen's Easter Handicap and that is an advantage. Her best races have been when on the fresh side, evidenced by her close fifth - beaten threequarters of a length - in Keeninsky's group one Telegraph Handicap in January.

"She's special when there is rain around," says regular rider Harris. "She's okay on a reasonably firm track, but you can't back her up afterwards.

"If there had been any rain around at Telegraph time she'd have won the race. Coming down the chute at the start of the race, the track was so hard I thought her legs were going to fall off. But she rallied, ran up Keeninsky's bum in the final part and was still less than one length from the winner.

"She might not have beaten Keeninsky, but if she'd had a clear run she'd have finished second despite the hard track.

"She's a different horse when there's give in the ground."

Rapid Kay is another who has raced well at Te Rapa.

Her Easter run was made that much better by the fact she got back on the inside, where it was difficult to win from.

As the winner of four of her five starts and one who could be unbeaten with luck, Hasta La Ciao Ciao creates a lot of interest.

This is being thrown in the deep at its best, but it might be timely. Where the likes of Calveen are approaching the downward slide, Hasta La Ciao Ciao is still peaking and that can overcome a lot of the natural disadvantages of not being as mentally or physically tough as the more experienced runners.

If this was a handicap Hasta La Ciao Ciao would be getting a massive weight concession from the likes of Calveen in particular and also from Rapid Kay. All three will carry 56kg.

"She's done everything we've asked of her," says trainer Roger James. "Potentially she's a very, very good mare and she deserves her chance at this."

Class filly Sista looked a shadow of herself finishing seventh at Tauranga last start. Trainer Graham Richardson blames himself for part of that for dropping the filly back from longer distances to 1300m.

"I shouldn't have done that, but there wasn't another race around. She didn't pull up well after that race. I thought perhaps the tough ground that day might have upset her, but I'm thinking now that she might have over-reached and stretched herself jumping out of the barriers.

"Anyway, I'm a bit happier with her going into this race."

Travis Stakes

Calveen is at the end of a very successful campaign and trainer Lance O'Sullivan is hopeful the mare can hold together for just this one last run.

One of her toughest rivals, Rapid Kay, would appreciate rain.

Rising star Hasta La Ciao Ciao is badly disadvantaged at the level weights.

Trainer Roger James says the four-from-five mare deserves the opportunity.