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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Shaun and Hazel Fannin have two horses in the market for the Great New Zealand Steeplechase at Te Aroha on Sunday. Shaun and Hazel Fannin’s pair of talented jumpers in Jesko and Fourty Eight will clash for the first time over fences in Sunday’s hotly-contested Ben and Ryan Foote Great New Zealand Steeplechase (6200m) at Te Aroha. Jesko has been the lamp-lighter for the stable this year, winning the Manawatu Steeplechase (4000m), Wellington Steeplechase (4900m) and Koral Steeplechase (4250m), before going down to a game Captains Run in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m). He has been ridden on each occasion by Shaun Fannin, who was proud of his charge’s effort in the testing conditions at Riccarton. Read: NZ horse racing guide “He was very brave, he got taken on a little bit in the run and probably did too much, which told in the finish in that really tough going,” he said. “In saying that, he never chucked it away and Captains Run was an impressive winner, so I take nothing away from that horse.” The son of Atlante returned to their Awapuni base and enjoyed a quiet fortnight before setting his sights on a rematch with much of his National rivals. That preparation included a hit-out in a bottomless New Plymouth track last Saturday, where he finished seventh in the Road To The Jericho (3210m). “He had 10 days off before building towards this race, he jumped out last Tuesday at Foxton then we took him to New Plymouth, which turned out to be an extremely heavy track,” Fannin said. “It was probably a harder run than we wanted to give him, but he’s pretty tough and it didn’t knock him too much, he’s come through that run well. “He’s as good as we’re going to get him and we’re hopeful that he’s in good enough form to be a really good chance on Sunday, he’s had a super season.” Jesko opened a $5 favourite for the $200,000 feature with Australian betting sites, but the market has his stablemate nearly on even terms, with Fourty Eight an equal second-elect at $6. The seven-year-old by Ekraar has improved throughout his campaign and stepped up in his first attempt at prestige level, finishing third behind Nedwin in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4300m). Fannin was on board and had to contend with a riderless horse coming in and out of play, which was no assist to Fourty Eight’s chances. “That undid him really, he can be quite temperamental sometimes and that fired him up a bit, he pulled quite hard,” Fannin said. “He was just chasing that horse and every time he got a breather it seemed to come back again. “He stuck on well, and maybe if that hadn’t have happened, I think he could’ve finished a bit closer.” He also lined up in the Jericho qualifier but was well beaten at the 800m, and Fannin said the gelding hadn’t taken any harm from the run. “We took him to New Plymouth to give him a bit of a hit out before Sunday, but he didn’t really do anything there, whether it was just the track I’m not sure,” he said. “We got him scoped and checked over by the vet on Monday and he’s all clear, he had a bit of a school on Thursday morning and worked up as good as ever so I can’t really fault him. “If he sees the trip out, he should be a good chance as well.” Recently awarded his fifth Jumps Jockey of the Year title at the Horse of the Year Awards, Fannin will continue his partnership with Jesko, while entrusting close friend Mathew Gillies with the ride on Fourty Eight. “Matt’s a super rider and we’ve been good friends for a long time as well,” he said. “He actually schooled this horse last year when he was down for a weekend, so he’s ridden him before. “He’s quite a strong rider as well, so if he did get up and pulling, I’m sure Matt will be able to rein him in quite quickly. I think they’ll be a good pairing.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Shaun and Hazel Fannin’s pair of talented jumpers in Jesko and Fourty Eight will clash for the first time over fences in Sunday’s hotly-contested Ben and Ryan Foote Great New Zealand Steeplechase (6200m) at Te Aroha. Jesko has been the lamp-lighter for the stable this year, winning the Manawatu Steeplechase (4000m), Wellington Steeplechase (4900m) and Koral Steeplechase (4250m), before going down to a game Captains Run in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m). He has been ridden on each occasion by Shaun Fannin, who was proud of his charge’s effort in the testing conditions at Riccarton. “He was very brave, he got taken on a little bit in the run and probably did too much, which told in the finish in that really tough going,” he said. “In saying that, he never chucked it away and Captains Run was an impressive winner, so I take nothing away from that horse.” The son of Atlante returned to their Awapuni base and enjoyed a quiet fortnight before setting his sights on a rematch with much of his National rivals. That preparation included a hit-out in a bottomless New Plymouth track last Saturday, where he finished seventh in the Road To The Jericho (3210m). “He had 10 days off before building towards this race, he jumped out last Tuesday at Foxton then we took him to New Plymouth, which turned out to be an extremely heavy track,” Fannin said. “It was probably a harder run than we wanted to give him, but he’s pretty tough and it didn’t knock him too much, he’s come through that run well. “He’s as good as we’re going to get him and we’re hopeful that he’s in good enough form to be a really good chance on Sunday, he’s had a super season.” Jesko opened a $5 favourite for the $200,000 feature, but the market has his stablemate nearly on even terms, with Fourty Eight an equal second-elect on $6. The seven-year-old by Ekraar has improved throughout his campaign and stepped up in his first attempt at prestige level, finishing third behind Nedwin in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4300m). Fannin was on board and had to contend with a riderless horse coming in and out of play, which was no assist to Fourty Eight’s chances. “That undid him really, he can be quite temperamental sometimes and that fired him up a bit, he pulled quite hard,” Fannin said. “He was just chasing that horse and every time he got a breather it seemed to come back again. “He stuck on well, and maybe if that hadn’t have happened, I think he could’ve finished a bit closer.” He also lined up in the Jericho qualifier but was well beaten at the 800m, and Fannin said the gelding hadn’t taken any harm from the run. “We took him to New Plymouth to give him a bit of a hit out before Sunday, but he didn’t really do anything there, whether it was just the track I’m not sure,” he said. “We got him scoped and checked over by the vet on Monday and he’s all clear, he had a bit of a school on Thursday morning and worked up as good as ever so I can’t really fault him. “If he sees the trip out, he should be a good chance as well.” Recently awarded his fifth Jumps Jockey of the Year title at the Horse of the Year Awards, Fannin will continue his partnership with Jesko, while entrusting close friend Mathew Gillies with the ride on Fourty Eight. “Matt’s a super rider and we’ve been good friends for a long time as well,” he said. “He actually schooled this horse last year when he was down for a weekend, so he’s ridden him before. “He’s quite a strong rider as well, so if he did get up and pulling, I’m sure Matt will be able to rein him in quite quickly. I think they’ll be a good pairing.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Group One performer Chase has been in a rich vein of form of late and he will attempt to continue that at Trentham on Saturday in the Gr.3 Hunterville Vet Club Metric Mile (1600m). The nine-year-old son of Zed returned to the winner’s circle in July before heading south to Riccarton last month where he was a popular winner of the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m), and trainer Stephen Nickalls has been pleased with the way he has come through his southern venture. “He is a pretty seasoned campaigner now, not much worries him,” he said. “He came home, had a week in the paddock and he put on 15 kilos. He did very well out of the trip down there. “He is in fantastic form, he is thriving on everything. He doesn’t know that he is nine-years-old, he is really well and doing everything we could ask of him.” Chase hasn’t been sighted on raceday since, but that hasn’t been by design, and Nickalls has kept him up to the mark with a 1000m trial at Waverley a fortnight ago. “It has been seven weeks between runs, he has been a victim of the programming around here, there have been no open miles in the CD,” Nickalls said. “We have had to play that waiting game, but he is really well and he trialled at Waverley and trialled really well.” Chase will continue his association with Canterbury jockey Tina Comignaghi, who has established a great record on the gelding. “She has only had the two rides on him, she ran third on him in the Captain Cook (Gr.1, 1600m) and then won the Winter Cup,” Nickalls said. “They have a pretty good relationship and she was keen to come back up, her agent rang me and said she was keen to ride him. You don’t break up a winning combination.” The pair will jump from barrier seven, a gate Nickalls said should suit his racing pattern. “It is better than drawing down on the rail,” he said. “He jumps with them, but takes a little to get into stride, so that won’t worry him and if the rain is coming like they say it is then it will be pretty wet anyway.” Chase is currently sitting as a $6 equal favourite for Saturday’s featured, alongside the Gerard Cvitanovich-trained Knock Off, with Tumuch, Ears Back and Privy Garden the next fancied runners at $8. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh has 14 horses entered across the 10-race card at Ellerslie on Saturday, and more than half of them are three-year-olds facing crucial early-season assignments. Marsh has proven black-type performers Little Black Dress, Lady Iris and Tale Of The Gypsy in Saturday’s Gr.3 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Sunline Vase (1400m), backed up by a range of emerging age-group talent on the undercard. Last-start Listed Wanganui Guineas (1200m) placegetters Churmatt and Swiss Prince will contest the NZB Ready to Run Sale Trainers Series 3YO (1400m), while the Join TAB Racing Club (1200m) features first-starters Earlicheer (by Super Seth out of Daffodil) and Well Written (Written Tycoon out of Australian black-type performer Mozzie Monster). “I think we’ll know a bit more about some of these three-year-olds after Saturday,” Marsh said. Marsh singled out Churmatt as the three-year-old he was most excited about on Saturday’s card. The son of Churchill was a three-length winner on debut at Rotorua on August 13, then finished only half a length behind quality filly Platinum Diamond when second in the Wanganui Guineas on August 30. There was a three-length margin back to third. “He’s a three-year-old that we’ve got a lot of time for,” Marsh said. “He ran a top race for second in the Wanganui Guineas last time out, in only his second start, and he won very well before that. I think he’s got a really nice season in front of him.” Opie Bosson will take the mount on Churmatt, who dominates the market as a $2 favourite for Saturday’s $55,000 race. Marsh is also upbeat about his Sunline Vase trio, who all acquitted themselves well in black-type features at Ellerslie two weeks ago. Lady Iris ran third against male three-year-olds in the Listed Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m), while Tale Of The Gypsy was beaten by six lengths into ninth after a tough wide run in the same race. Little Black Dress, who won at Listed level at Ellerslie in the autumn, was a close sixth in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m). “I thought they all performed with credit that day, and they’ve all gone the right way from there,” Marsh said. “It’s a hot field on Saturday and their performances here will have a real bearing on what we do with them from here.” Another talented member of Marsh’s Ellerslie team is Tardelli, who will kick off his four-year-old season in the Eagle Technology (1400m). The well-bred son of I Am Invincible won twice as a three-year-old last season including the inaugural $100,000 Windsor Park Stud 3YO Trophy (1500m) at Ellerslie on Champions Day in March. He also finished second against older horses in the Gr.3 Easter Handicap (1600m), beaten by a neck by Doctor Askar, and ran third to Savaglee in the Gr.2 Levin Classic (1400m) and to Sethito in the Listed (now Gr.3) Uncle Remus Stakes (1400m). Tardelli made an unsuccessful raid on the Queensland Winter Carnival, finishing eighth in the Gr.2 Queensland Guineas (1600m) in May, but has pleased Marsh with his progress so far this spring. He was a two-length trial winner over 1100m at Ellerslie on September 9. “He’s a horse with a lot of upside,” Marsh said. “His last preparation was very good, and what he’s shown us so far suggests he’s coming up even better this time in. “I’ve been happy with his two trials. The first one was on a very wet track, and then he scored a lovely win at Ellerslie in his second trial. I think that’s really brought him on and he’s going great ahead of his return to racing. “We’ll take it one step at a time for now, see what he does at Ellerslie on Saturday and take it from there, but he could find himself in a Matamata Cup (Listed, 1600m) second-up.” The Matamata Cup will be run on October 4. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Martell made an instant impact in his first appearance from his new quarters and more of the same is forecast at Gore. The former Jim Collett-prepared sprinter made a successful South Island debut at Wingatui earlier this month and is expected to go close to adding Sunday’s Advance Agriculture Open (1100m) to his record. He will head a strong hand for trainer Kelvin Tyler who will also be represented by Go Lotte, while stablemates Vamos and Prince Alby are top chances in the Kevin Coyle Memorial Open (1800m). The Riverton horseman will also be keeping a close eye on the Marton meeting at Trentham where Freddie Time steps out in the Nufarm & Property Brokers Handicap (1400m). El Roca six-year-old Martell has now won seven of his 26 starts and Tyler is understandably bullish about his chances on Sunday. “He’s a good horse and Jim Collett did a great job with him. The wet track’s not going to hurt, it’s a winnable race for him again,” he said. “It’s still the same ownership group and you couldn’t get a better horse to work with, he’s fitted in well and we’re very pleased to have him.” Stable stalwart Go Lotte posted consecutive placings before she tailed the field home last time out at Riccarton. “She got back and they kicked off the front that day with the rail out, so it was hard for her,” Tyler said. “She’ll go a nice race on Sunday, she’s won 10 races so she’s obviously a good horse, but Martell will probably be a bit sharp for her.” Tyler also favoured his last-start Riccarton winner Vamos over Prince Alby in the other open handicap. “His work has been great, he’s a beautiful black horse and is very genuine so he’ll take some stopping,” he said. Prince Alby was a resuming fourth behind Martell and is on a path toward a November staying feature at Riccarton. “If he had got a bit more room the other day he may have given him a run for his money,” Tyler said. “He’s come through it well and is heading toward the New Zealand Cup (Gr.3, 3200m), but I don’t think he’s up to Vamos at this stage.” Trentham hope Freddie Time finished fourth when resuming at Otaki earlier this month in his first appearance since a disappointing Queensland venture. “I was rapt with him and his work has been unreal, he should be a great chance on a wet track in a small field,” Tyler said. “He pulled a muscle in Australia, so we brought him back and instead of bringing him down south for the winter we parked him up at Howie and Lorraine Mathews’ place and he’s still there. “There’s another good race for him at Otaki in three weeks’ time, so he’ll keep ticking over up there.” View the full article
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