Rangiotu gelding chasing further stakes success

[Wandering Eyes]

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.

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