Wordsworth successful on favourite stomping ground

[Wandering Eyes]

Wordsworth continued his love affair with Te Rapa on Saturday when notching his seventh win at the Hamilton track in the Race A Horse With Te Akau Mile (1600m).

Prior to the race, trainer Margaret Falconer was concerned about the wet conditions, however, Wordsworth handled them with aplomb, scoring a half head victory over Lilly Thunder.

“He likes Te Rapa, but we were getting a bit worried when it was getting wetter than he likes,” Falconer said.

“But he does seem to manage a heavy track there whereas he doesn’t at other places.”

Falconer bred Wordsworth and she has taken a lot of enjoyment from seeing his success on the track.

“He is a neat horse to take to the races, he always has a go,” she said.

“It is not easy to win nine, he has done a really good job. Hopefully he can get some more on the board.”

Falconer plans to progress through winter with the six-year-old and possibly tackle some spring targets.

“We decided to keep him ticking over winter because he doesn’t do that well when he is out. We will hopefully keep on going into the spring with him,” she said.

Meanwhile, Falconer’s frustrating run with Blue Moon continued on Saturday when the mare posted her eighth career runner-up performance in the Greene Brothers 2100.

The perennial bridesmaid continued her string of second placings behind Poser at Te Rapa and Falconer is nearly out of ideas with the daughter of Shocking.

“She gets to the front and they (jockeys) say she sees the winning post and starts pulling up, which isn’t ideal,” she said.

“It doesn’t seem to matter whether it is wet ground, dry ground, a good field or not, or what distance, she just seems to have a habit of doing the same, which is frustrating.

“She could have had a lot more (wins) on the board than what she has got. Hopefully she can pick up another one or two.”

Blue Moon is another horse Falconer will press on through Winter, but she does have some lofty goals for the mare, who finished fifth in the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m) in April.

“We have got the Winter Championship Final at Ruakaka for her on the radar, so she may go for that,” Falconer said.

“We would like to think that we could have a go at something like the Counties Cup (Gr.3, 2100m) with her later this year.“Saturday was the furthest she has been, and we do know she we will stay now, so that is good.”

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