A lot to like about Lucy in Desert Gold

[Wandering Eyes]

The last time Leica Lucy tackled a three-year-old fillies mile at Trentham her rivals were no match, and she is looking to replicate that performance on Saturday when she contests the Gr.3 New Zealand Bloodstock Desert Gold Stakes (1600m).

A filly by Derryn, Leica Lucy was a debut winner and then only narrowly beaten by Wingman at her following start, but once she stepped up to 1600m, she put over two lengths on the field in the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m).

Like the course and distance, her jockey Craig Grylls will remain the same, and her trainer Robbie Patterson couldn’t be happier with his charge heading into Saturday’s feature contest.

“She had a quiet week after the Eulogy and has just been ticking over, she’s pretty straightforward,” Patterson said. “She’s had some good gallops lately and I’m very happy with her.

“She’s probably done fractionally well since her race, she’s put on some weight and is going into it a very happy horse.”

Leica Lucy is currently the odds-on favourite at $1.85, and while Patterson is hopeful she can get the job done, he has plenty more in store for the filly, including the $1 million Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and potential trip across the Tasman.

“Going off her last run, I think she’s improved, so I’d hope that she’s winning on Saturday,” he said.

“From there, it gets a bit tricky, either I’ve got to start two weeks later in the Oaks Prelude (Listed, 1800m), and then a month to the Lowland (Gr.2, 2100m), and three weeks to the Oaks.

“But I don’t want to overtax her, she could end up in Aussie in the autumn as well. We’ll just get through Saturday and go from there.”

Patterson will also be represented in Saturday’s showpiece, the Gr.3 NZ Campus Of Innovation and Sport Wellington Cup (3200m), by Nom De Plume.

The Taranaki horseman won last year’s edition with Mary Louise, and her stablemate is coming into the race off the back of a strong performance for second in the Listed Marton Cup (2200m).

“It was a good solid run, it was good to see her back in form,” Patterson said. “She’d been working the house down going into that race and she duly obliged, she went super.

“She hasn’t missed a beat since, you never know if they’ll get two miles but she’s well and happy so we’re hopeful.”

Conor O’Ceirin will look to recapture the winning form that he delivered first-up in the Tags Accounting and Taxation (1400m), while Ragamuffin faces a competitive line-up in the John Turkington Forestry Duoro Cup (1600m).

“Conor’s come through his last run well, he missed the kick and over-raced badly,” Patterson said. “He’s going to have to get the jump and roll forward, then it’s up to Conor. On his day, he’s a good horse, but it depends which Conor turns up.

“Ragamuffin is one of those horses that everything has to go right for him a little bit. There are a couple of nice horses in there, so he’ll be in there and he’s in good form, it’s just whether he’s good enough or not.”

Earlier in the meeting, Patterson rates the chances of Last Souvenir, who takes his place in the Stephanie Murray Mortgages (1400m).

“He’s done very well since Te Rapa, he had a couple of problems from there and we sorted him out shoeing wise,” he said. “He’s a really good each-way chance on Saturday.”

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