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The TAB Racing Club’s debut season has already produced multiple highlights for its more than 10,000 members, and Cambridge trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray are excited to unveil another bright prospect in the dark blue and red colours at Trentham on Saturday. An initiative by Entain Australia and New Zealand to promote racehorse ownership among TAB customers, the TAB Racing Club is free to join. Its members have already had cause for celebration, with four-year-old mare Bella Regazza winning at Ascot Park in November and two-year-old filly In Haste scoring impressively at Matamata in January. The latest to step out in the TAB Racing Club colours is first-starter Transcend in Saturday’s Ladies Man 2YO (1200m) at Trentham. The daughter of So You Think was a $150,000 purchase by the TAB Racing Club and Ritchie Murray Racing from Henley Park’s draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2024. Ritchie has made no secret of his high regard for the filly, who will be the stable’s only starter at the Wellington track on Saturday. “She’s a lovely filly,” he said. “For us to be taking her down to Trentham as our only runner at the meeting shows that we really like her. We certainly wouldn’t be taking a horse that far otherwise. “It’s a privilege for Colm and I to train a horse in those TAB Racing Club colours. It’s great for our stable’s profile. “We’ve taken only one two-year-old to the races so far this season, and that was Tajana, who was a winner and also placed in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr.1, 1400m) and Colin Jillings Classic (Gr.3, 1200m). Hopefully we can maintain that strong record with our two-year-olds this season.” Further illustrating the stable’s opinion of Transcend, Ritchie explained that Saturday’s Trentham assignment is a one-race mission with a long-term target in mind. “She’s always shown us exceptional ability and we think she might be up to a 1000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) in the spring,” he said. “That’s the reason for the big trip away. If she is indeed up to going down to Christchurch, there aren’t many tracks that mirror Riccarton as well as Trentham does. “We think one run will be more than enough for her in this campaign. Being by So You Think, we believe she’ll handle a mile as a three-year-old. We can’t wait to see what she can do next season.” Ritchie was pleased with Transcend’s two trials, which produced second placings at Ellerslie on April 1 and on the Cambridge synthetic track two weeks later. “Her first trial was extremely good,” he said. “She couldn’t get on her right leg going the Ellerslie way around and looked lost, but then she made up five or six lengths down the straight and really showed how much talent she has. “Her second trial was what we call a handbrake trial. It was just a soft trial on the Polytrack at home. We just sat quietly and cruised around. “She has a few quirks, she has a bit of a dance in the birdcage and has a mind of her own, but there’s no doubting her ability.” The stable’s main concern leading into the $35,000 race is the Trentham track, which was rated Heavy8 on Friday and may deteriorate further. “It’s unfortunate that the rain has come, but she is extremely fit,” Ritchie said. “We’re lucky to have a lovely Polytrack to train horses on at Cambridge, but the downside of that is that it really takes away your ability to know whether horses will handle heavy ground. “It helps that it’s the first race on the card on Saturday, and the ground tends to be a bit better on that dog leg at Trentham. Coming across on to the course proper is when we’ll find out how she copes with really heavy footing. We do think her class will take her a long way. “She’s drawn the outside gate, but that doesn’t bother me. We won’t be too aggressive coming out of the gates, and we’ll just try to keep her on the bridle. Tactics will be left up to Bridget (Grylls, jockey), but it will probably be the horse herself that determines whereabouts she settles in the running. “You always want to present the best horse in any given race, and if she’s that, she’s certainly going to take some beating this weekend.” View the full article

Kevin and Stephen Gray have four talented up-and-comers entered for Trentham on Saturday, along with an exciting international jockey recruit, but the prospect of a testing track has dented the confidence of the Palmerston North stable. The father-son team will be represented by Cooper (NZ) (Tivaci) in the $50,000 Australian Turf Club Autumn Sprint Final (1200m), Albarossa (Vino Rosso) and Cosentino (NZ) (El Roca) in the Leica Lucy 3YO (1200m), and Tycoon Boss (Street Boss) in the Doctor Askar Maiden (1000m). “We’re taking a really, really nice team to Trentham,” Stephen Gray said. “They’re all lovely horses with bright futures in front of them. I just wish they were racing on a Soft5 instead of a Heavy8 or worse.” Cooper is bred and raced by long-time stable clients Howard and Pamela Forbes and is a half-brother to the black-type performers Rock ‘N’ Affair (NZ) (Rock ‘N’ Pop) and Stumpy (NZ) (O’Reilly), who were both trained by Kevin Gray. From 14 starts, Cooper has himself recorded three wins and four placings. He won a Rating 65 by almost three lengths at Wanganui on April 5, then stepped up for a Rating 75 at Te Rapa on April 26 and finished a close fourth behind Queen Zou (Zoustar), Willit (NZ) (Swiss Ace) and Nepheti (NZ) (Charm Spirit). “It was a really good run at Te Rapa,” Stephen Gray said. “It was just the wide draw that beat him there. He had to go back, and the track was quite quick up the fence that day. “He’s been running well and is turning into a nice horse. A heavy track is a concern for him, especially with his race being late in the day. I don’t think he’s a real wet-tracker, so we might have to play that by ear. But that’s just the time of year that we’re coming into now. “We’ve also got Ellerslie next week as another option we could consider for him. He’s a promising horse and should be very competitive wherever he lines up.” Albarossa’s first five starts produced two smart wins along with a second, a third and a fourth. He faced his biggest test in the Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa last start, where he finished near the back of the field after being checked in the straight. “He got a bad check in the home straight, which Michael McNab was suspended for,” Gray said. “His jockey hadn’t moved on him at that stage. “The winner (Ardalio) was impressive, so I don’t know if we would have beaten that horse, but I think we would have been up around the top four if it hadn’t been for that check. “He’s well above average and is a really fit horse with that trip under his belt. This looks like a very good race for him. Again, it’s just a matter of how bad the track gets. “But as I said to the owners, they’re only three once and it’s a nice race on our back doorstep, so we might as well have a go.” Albarossa will be joined in that $35,000 three-year-old sprint by his stablemate Cosentino. The El Roca gelding was last seen in the spring, when the first three starts of his career produced a sixth, a win and a fourth. “He’s another really promising horse, but this is his first start back from a spell and he’ll need the run,” Gray said. “It’s just about starting him off. But he’s a really nice horse in the making.” The stable has endured a frustrating time with Tycoon Boss, who has placed in all of his three starts including his resuming run at Wanganui on April 5. “He’s a very, very talented horse but it’s been incredibly hard to find a race for him,” Gray said. “A foot injury put him out for two or three months. He ran well resuming, but since then we’ve taken him to three cancelled meetings and also had to scratch him from another one because of the track. “He really wants decent ground, but that’s hard to find at the moment. We may end up having to just take the risk and run him anyway. It is what it is.” Cooper, Albarossa and Tycoon Boss will all be ridden by Bruno Queiroz, who will make his New Zealand debut at Trentham on Saturday. The 23-year-old hails from Brazil and made his mark in Singapore, culminating in a premiership title in the final season of racing at Kranji. “He’s a huge talent,” Gray said. “He’s Joao Moreira’s godson, and Joao and I have been good friends since his days riding in Singapore. Joao wanted to get Bruno to Singapore for some international experience and asked me to help him get started. “After being unable to speak a word of English when he arrived, his progress was incredible – to the point where he rode four winners on the very last day of racing in Singapore, clinching the premiership. “He’s only 23 and has ridden over 1100 winners already. He’s a huge talent, young, light and a very humble, nice and hard-working person. “Joao wants him to learn his trade a bit more over here in New Zealand with us. It’ll give him a great grounding for his future career. “If he settles in well here and gets going, especially in the spring, I think he could do very well. “His record is incredible. I expect him to be a real asset to New Zealand racing, and he could well prove to be as good as any rider in the country.” View the full article

Southland trainer Robert Dennis ticked off a career milestone with his 100th winner on Friday, thanks to a determined front-running performance by Chevron (NZ) (El Roca) in the Chief Stipe Horrell Contracting/Ricki Egerton Dagging Handicap (1600m) at Riverton. Dennis had brought up his 99th winner with On Song at Riverton on April 21 and went on to record three seconds, a third, a fourth and two fifths through the couple of weeks since. But Chevron delivered in style as the $2.10 favourite in Friday’s $22,000 open handicap. Ridden by apprentice jockey Yogesh Atchamah, Chevron broke quickly from the starting gates and soon took up a clear lead. He showed the way up until the home turn, when home-track mare Albatross tackled him and briefly got her head in front. But Chevron lifted again in the straight and clawed his way back into the lead, pulling away in the closing stages to win by a length. Midnight Runner got up along the inside to run second, half a length in front of Albatross. “It’s pretty satisfying to bring up that 100th win,” Dennis said. “It was always going to come – it was just a matter of time. We had to settle for a few placings between 99 and 100. I’ve had a lot of people telling me how close I was over the last week or so, so it’s good to bring that to an end by knocking it off today.” This was the first South Island win for Chevron, who had previously recorded five wins for Ruakaka trainer Chris Gibbs. Bred and raced by Markwood Lodge, whose colours were carried to victory by the Dennis-trained Loftys Gift in the $170,000 Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m) in March, Chevron has now had a total of 36 starts for six wins, 16 placings and $203,556 in stakes. The seven-year-old son of El Roca had finished third and second in his first two appearances for Dennis on March 28 and April 21. “It was a really good performance by Chevron today,” Dennis said. “He was a pretty handy horse in the north and is now hitting form down here too. He seems to have found his mojo, which is good. Hopefully we can carry on with him now and pick off some nice races through the rest of the winter. “There’s a good-money meeting coming up at Wingatui on Sunday the 1st of June, so I think that’s what we’ll point him towards next.” In the meantime, Dennis has half a dozen entries for his local meeting at Ascot Park on Sunday, and he believes a pair of in-form mares will be the ones to watch. “I really like On Song, who won last start, has a 4kg claim on Sunday and loves wet ground,” Dennis said. “Vino Valentino is another one who’s in really good form, she’s run a couple of top races to place in her last couple of starts. She looks well placed in her race with a 2kg claim as well. I’d say those two are probably our leading lights for Sunday.” On Song is another Markwood Lodge homebred and is a half-sister to Chevron, being by The Bold One out of the Refuse To Bend mare La Cite. On Song has so far had 13 starts for four wins and $72,945 in stakes. View the full article

While most trainers would be rapt with an inside draw in a Group One feature, Phillip Stokes said it was far from ideal for his two mares in the Gr.1 The Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville.  Stokes saddles Stretan Angel (Harry Angel) and Climbing Star (NZ) (Zoustar) in the 1200m set weight plus penalties contest on Saturday with the mares drawing gates one and three respectively.  “I’m not happy with those draws,” Stokes said.  “I would prefer to be drawn middle to out with both of them, especially with the way they race at Morphettville, getting off the rails.  “It doesn’t help us, although Climbing Star did get up on the fence when she won the Sangster last year, so hopefully that’s the case again.  “But it certainly doesn’t help Stretan Angel, it’s not her racing style.”  Climbing Star won the Gr.1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) last year from gate 14 but was ridden for luck and got an inside passage.  She then went on to finish third in The Goodwood jumping from gate 13.  Stretan Angel had gate 10 in last year’s Sangster when finishing sixth then had gate seven when second in The Goodwood.  Both mares contested this year’s Sangster Stakes with Stretan Angel finishing ninth from gate nine and Climbing Star in 12th spot, from barrier seven.  “I’m not sure what happened with Climbing Star last time,” Stokes said.  “She got buffeted early in the race and had an off day, but we can’t fault her and we’re hoping she will bounce back.”  With Climbing Star to be sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast later in May, The Goodwood will be her last start for Stokes, while Stretan Angel is expected to race on as a five-year-old.  In a bid to extract the best from the two mares, Stokes has switched riders with Lachlan Neindorf going onto Stretan Angel and Thomas Stockdale switching to Climbing Star.  Neindorf combined with Stokes to win the Gr.1 South Australian Derby (2500m) last week with Femminile (Dundeel).  “Lachie rode them both on Tuesday and said they were good, so we can’t split them,” Stokes said.  “We just thought Lachie rides Stretan Angel better.  “Climbing Star is having her last run and she’s going to the broodmare sale up at the Gold Coast, so there is more upside for Lachie going back to Stretan Angel.” View the full article