Racing: Yourein confirms Derby potential

Yourein backs up rider Leith Innes's opinion with an easy win in the Mad Butcher Stakes at Ellerslie yesterday. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Rider Leith Innes had a hunch Yourein's 6x833 formline was far better than it looked before his first big staying test at Ellerslie.

Co-owner Peter Walker was glad he listened.

Innes's glowing opinion of the Reset maiden after just one ride convinced Walker and his partners to back-up their $140,000 Karaka yearling for a decisive win in the $45,000 The Mad Butcher Championship Stakes Prelude (2100m) yesterday.

Innes rode the John Sargent-trained Yourein into third in a 3-year-old 1600m event at Ellerslie the previous weekend.

After enjoying a lovely trail until the turn, Innes said the lightly-tried gelding botched his chances by gawking in the straight.

"Leith said to back him up next week in this race," said Walker.

"He only had half-cups [blinkers] on last Saturday so we switched to full cups today to help him concentrate.

"He's a nice staying type - he won very well today so looks like he's going to give us another chance in the Derby."

Innes said he never had any cause for concern yesterday, hooking out from the perfect trail to kick clear in the straight by 2 lengths.

"He was travelling well the whole way and when we got out he won easily," said Innes.

"I really like this horse; he gave me a pretty good feel last week - his run was far better than it looked on TV."

Runner-up Arakti, who came in for inspired late support to start favourite, never looked like catching the winner in the straight.

But his first middle-distance attempt in just his second race for the season still pleased Cambridge co-trainer Bjorn Baker.

The big-strider was left flat-footed when the pace quickened appreciably 600m out but never stopped grinding away.

"He's a very promising horse; we'll just continue now on the Derby path and try and get him there," said Baker.

"There's another race for him back at Ellerslie over the Christmas carnival."

Veteran sprinter Atapi confirmed his return to the course for another crack at the Railway on January 1 with an impressive win in the sprint feature yesterday.

Despite being "only 85 per cent", fit according to co-trainer Richard Otto, the 9-year-old cruised home to break 1m 10s in the Suburban Newspapers Community Trust 1200, the last 600m in 34.96s.

Otto said he has never had the gelding in better nick for the past three seasons - he failed by a lip to catch Aussie speedster A Gold Trail in the 2010 Railway after running fourth in the 2009 running of the feature sprint.

Another Telegraph Handicap assignment is also on the cards at Trentham, where the Te Awamutu gelding is also likely to back up in the Thorndon Mile a week later.

"The mile was always his best go; it's just as he's got older it's been easier to keep him fresh.

"But he's got such a good turn of foot he's also capable of running second in both the Railway and Telegraph."

Punters were burned by the failure of red-hot favourite Celeris but trainer Leo Molloy wasn't surprised she beat only two home.

He said he told stipes on Thursday that she'd be racing with a protective pad on the off-fore after another "issue" with her dodgy legs.

"I would have thought they would have made a public announcement," said Molloy. "I told everyone I knew not to back her but we had to run with only three weeks until the Railway."

The winner was also exempt from the Railway ballot.

"There's no plan B with her - if she wakes up sound we're happy.

"You don't know what you've got until you take the wraps off her legs in the morning."

Steward Alan Cole said yesterday that chief stipe Cameron George had spoken to Molloy on Thursday.

He said Molloy told George that his farrier had suggested the addition of a pad, but also assured him there was "nothing wrong with the horse".