Racing: Zedeedudadeeko could shoot for Te Rapa jumps double

Track conditions will dictate whether Zedeedudadeeko starts at Te Rapa this weekend. Photo / Race Images

Heavy track conditions at Te Rapa could help star Wairarapa hurdler Zedeedudadeeko shoot for two big prizes this weekend.

The Great Northern Hurdles (4190m) and Wellington Hurdles (3400m) winner is a finalist for jumper of the year at Sunday night's New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards at Ellerslie and could vie for a racetrack win the previous day if conditions are right.

Tauherenikau trainer Jamie Phillips has Zed 10-year-old Zedeedudadeeko entered for the Corzon Maize Open Hurdle (3200m) at Te Rapa but was looking for the jumper's preferred testing heavy conditions before confirming a start.

"He won't start unless it reaches a heavy 11 at some stage during the week," Phillips said.

Zedeedudadeeko won the Wellington Hurdles at Trentham last month in heavy 11 conditions but was outpaced on a slow 9 track for the Grand National Hurdles (4200m) at Riccarton earlier this month.

"He went well and we were happy enough but it was a slow 9 and he doesn't operate in those conditions," Phillips said.

"Isaac [Lupton, jockey] felt he jumped his way into it but then they increased the speed and got him out of his comfort zone. On heavy 11 tracks, he's never out of his comfort zone. He loves the deep stuff and because of that I wasn't expecting anything on the better track at Riccarton."

Phillips is unsure what to expect at Te Rapa, which has seldom played like a true heavy 11 track in recent years, but wants to keep Zedeedudadeeko in prime condition to defend his Great Northern crown should suitable conditions present next month.

"I thought he wouldn't run in the Northern because the track would be too good but we'd look silly if it came up a heavy 11 and he wasn't there," Phillips said.

"He's very bright. He looks great and the racing doesn't worry him. He came back from the South Island well and hasn't left a feed."

Prospects of winning jumper of the year? "They normally go for the top steeplechaser but he's probably got similar credentials to Wise Men Say. He won the Northern by 10 lengths.

"He deserves to be there on what he's achieved and that's a credit to the horse."

- NZ Racing Desk