Racing: Youngster still has more to give

Canterbury trainer Michael Pitman has retained the card he hopes can trump Final Reality's spring rivals.

Final Reality completed a hat-trick of wins in the $30,000 Ryder Stakes (1200m) for 2-year-olds at Otaki on Saturday but Pitman has no doubt that the horse will lift his form when he races in blinkers.

Adding blinkers has been an option for some time but Pitman has resisted the temptation while Final Reality has been matching his central districts' rivals.

"I went close to putting them on today but then I thought that would mean I was panicking. You don't change things that are working," Michael Pitman said.

"But we have to have that up our sleeve if he's going to be a leading three-year-old.

"He will be a much more focused racehorse with blinkers.

"He has galloped in blinkers and works like a completely different horse."

In any event, Pitman already rates the Howbaddouwanit gelding as the best 3-year-old prospect he has trained.

"I've never had a 2-year-old with his sort of attitude and ability. He has an unbelievable attitude. Nothing ever fazes him. He just eats and sleeps."

However, Pitman said he had still had concerns leading into Saturday's race.

"I don't think I've ever felt under such pressure and I've been worrying about this race for a fortnight."

Pitman's fears stemmed from Final Reality's win under 58kg on a heavy track at Trentham at his previous start.

"He appeared to have come through the race well but how many horses bounce back after racing at Trentham? That is always at the back of your mind."

Pitman, however, felt more comfortable once he inspected Final Reality in the birdcage before the Ryder.

"I thought he paraded as well as he has ever done and was raring to go. He was right on his game."

Final Reality began his race career when second, beaten a head, in the Welcome Stakes at Riccarton in November. He has now finished his 2-year-old season with four wins and five placings from 10 starts.

Saturday's win put him in distinguished company as he is the first horse to win both the Ryder and the Castletown Stakes, run at Foxton, since Veandercross won the two listed stakes' races in 1991.

Final Reality has been especially effective in wet ground and is unbeaten on soft or heavy tracks, though he has been stakes placed on good ground.

He has earned a Cambridge Lodge bonus at his last two starts and has grossed more than $100,000 in stakes and bonuses from his last three starts.

Rider Darryl Bradley regarded the Ryder win as Final Reality's best performance this winter.

"I thought it was a better effort today than it was at Foxton [in the Castletown Stakes]," Bradley said.

"He felt a better horse today and when I asked him to go, he had it instantly and kept going. He's also been well trained. He's had a long campaign but was spot on today."

Final Reality will now have a week off before being prepared for the $35,000 Wanganui Guineas (1320m) on September 3 and the $100,000 Hawke's Bay Guineas (1400m) on October 1. All going well, he will then press on to the group one Two Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on November 12.

- NZPA