Aigne on trial for The Jericho

[Wandering Eyes]

Aigne (NZ) (Sufficient) finished sixth in the Jericho Cup (4600m) two years ago and owner and former trainer Neil O’Dowd is keen to have another crack at the Warrnambool feature next month.

The nine-year-old son of Sufficient has once again featured prominently this year over the hurdles, placing in the Wellington Hurdle (3100m) at Hastings, Grand National Hurdles (4200m) at Riccarton, and third in the Great Northern Hurdles (4200m) at Te Aroha for trainer Kevin Myers.

He ran fourth on the flat over 2200m at Trentham on Sunday and will likely head to Te Rapa next Tuesday, with his performance dictating whether he heads across the Tasman.

“He ran the other day where I was really happy with his fourth. Kevin (Myers) said he was just a little bit sore, so he put him out for a couple of days,” O’Dowd said.

“The plan was to have a crack at the Feilding Gold Cup (Listed, 2100m), but on Melbourne Cup Day there is a rating 74 2200m at Te Rapa.

“If he ran at Te Rapa and won, we would probably have another crack at the Jericho.

“It is a little bit hard to do because he has got to go over to Paddy Payne and he can be a handful this horse.

“It’s a shame we won’t be able to go because the Warrnambool people look after you so well.”

Meanwhile, O’Dowd has brought the curtain down on the racing career of former stablemate Senassy (NZ) (Istidaad).

The 10-year-old daughter of Istidaad won seven races and more than $110,000 in prizemoney.

“That was her last race at Hawera (earlier this month) and she will be covered by Redwood,” O’Dowd said.

“You have got to pull the pin sometime and she is 10 now and we would like to get a couple of foals out of her.

“She is an honest mare but was a bit of a handful when she first came to me. In time, and in a smaller stable, she was good.

“Anybody who rode her said she was so tough, she never gave in.”

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