Well-bred gelding set to shine on debut

[Wandering Eyes]

Well-bred three-year-old gelding Kygo Star (Wootton Bassett) is set to shine when he makes his debut in the Fox & Hounds Taupo (1300m) at Taupo on Wednesday. 

The promising youngster has breeding on his side, being out of in vogue Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett and out of Group One performer Star Karen, and he has made a good impression on his trainer Chad Ormsby. 

The Cambridge horseman is looking forward to seeing him step out for the first time on raceday, having pulled him out of his intended debut at Matamata last Friday due to the deteriorating track. 

“He was due to run last week but it was too wet at Matamata,” Ormsby said. “Hopefully we might have a nice, long campaign in front of him, and we didn’t want to put a gut buster in first-up. 

“It’s a nice option there (at Taupo) and I expect to know a little bit more about him. We do think he is a horse that will get up over ground.  

“He will be a better autumn three-year-old. He is a little bit slow-maturing, but he has started to put his hand up, so we are pressing on for now.” 

Stablemate Dalmatian Coast (NZ) (Ace High), a half-brother to Group One performer Antrim Coast, is also entered for Taupo to contest the DPA Chartered Accountants NZB Mega Maiden Series (1200m), but Ormsby said he is likely to be saved for Ellerslie on Saturday after drawing 17 at Taupo.  

“We threw him in on Saturday at Ellerslie, so we are most likely to go there,” Ormsby said. “We have drawn pretty average tomorrow.  

“He was in last week (at Matamata) but we don’t want to give him a gut buster first-up and that’s the same sort of deal with drawing wide. The track will probably play a little tricky tomorrow as well.” 

Looking ahead to the weekend, Ormsby is set to head to Ellerslie with two other runners, including Pieces of Eight (NZ) (Ten Sovereigns) and Unodostrescuatro (NZ) (Savabeel), with all three nominated for the SkyCity 1200. 

“Pieces of Eight has endless amounts of ability, so I am looking forward to seeing her kick-off her campaign,” Ormsby said.  

“She is still in that maiden grade so if it’s not Saturday, we will see her break her maiden pretty soon. 

“Unodostrescuatro has had three runs to date and all have been very good runs. 

“It is nice to have a couple of nice maideners that should break maiden grade pretty soon.” 

Meanwhile, Have A Crack (Zoustar), who has won both of his starts for Ormsby, is enjoying some time in the paddock following his last-start victory at Ellerslie earlier this month. 

“He is really good,” Ormsby said. “I haven’t found the perfect race for him for his next run, so he found himself in the spelling paddock at the end of last week.  

“He is having a little rest and he should have a nice summer campaign in front of him. We are quite excited about him.” 

Ormsby is also excited about the summer prospects of his Group Three-winning stablemates Master Fay (Deep Field) and Outovstock (NZ) (Tavistock), with the latter winning his 1100m trial at Ellerslie last week. 

“Master Fay might go to the Te Rapa trials (next Tuesday),” Ormsby said. “He was due to go to Ellerslie but got eliminated there and had a jumpout at home. He is ticking all of the boxes. 

“If we can get him anywhere near his best, he is going to be an exciting horse for summer racing. 

“Outovstock is due to trial again next week as well. If he can find his best form, he is going to be right up there with some of the better stayers this year.”

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