Solidify looks both Sharp and Smart

[Wandering Eyes]

Graeme and Debbie Rogerson hope that it is a case of lightning striking twice after Solidify (NZ) (Redwood) put his rivals to the sword when winning the Decise Electrical and Control 2YO (1200m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.

The son of Redwood invoked comparisons with his year older stablemate Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) (Redwood), who in addition to being by the same sire showed raw ability at two.

Ridden by Ryan Elliot, Solidify came from beyond midfield to score by nearly two lengths despite showing greenness.

“He was unlucky at Tauranga at his first start (when third) and he is not a natural two-year-old,” Graeme Rogerson said.

“His work has been fantastic. When Ryan came in on Tuesday and Thursday and worked him, he said he thinks he’s a Sharp ‘N’ Smart. I said ‘that’ll do me’.

“He is a colt this horse and I think he is well above average.”

Solidify will back-up in the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa next week and should he be successful he may follow a path tread by his triple Group One winning stablemate.

Ryan Elliot debriefs with Graeme and Debbie Rogerson following Solidify’s triumph at Te Rapa
Photo: Trish Dunell

“He is running in the two-year-old stakes race next Saturday at Te Rapa. I’d have loved it to be 1400m,” Rogerson said.

“He will run in that and then I will decide whether I run him in the Futurity (Listed, 1400m) at Pukekohe or take him to Queensland for the Phoenix (Listed, 1500m) and the JJ Atkins (Gr.1, 1600m). That is what we did last year with Sharp ‘N’ Smart.

“I think you will see him as a classic horse. Redwoods shouldn’t do that as two-year-olds.

“He has just needed that bit of extra time. If he goes to Queensland, Ryan will ride him, I’ve told him that, but he has got to get some prize money. Sharp ‘N’ Smart had won the Champagne Stakes (Listed, 1400m) before he went. “

Rogerson purchased the Redwood colt for $140,000 from the Westbury Stud draft at last year’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, with stud proprietor Gerry Harvey remaining in the ownership group.

The stable will likely be dab-handed in next week’s Te Rapa juvenile feature, with Madam Pennino also set to take her place.

“She needed the run the other day and if the track is wet, it won’t worry her,” Rogerson said.

Meanwhile, the wily conditioner reports Sharp ‘N’ Smart is enjoying his time in the spelling paddock after a game performance for fourth in the Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) on a heavy track in Sydney. “He looks outstanding. He has got another three weeks out. He will do New Zealand proud and on a good track I think he will win some really big races,” Rogerson said.

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