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Almanzor Trophy aim for To Bravery Born
Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson are eyeing the Almanzor Trophy (Gr 3, 1200m) on Karaka Millions night with To Bravery Born (Snitzel) after the talented three-year-old produced an outstanding fresh-up performance at Te Rapa on Saturday. The gelding has made a habit of firing first-up, and he extended that record with a powerful late surge under Opie Bosson to claim his fourth win from eight starts, overhauling To Cap It All (Capitalist) by a half-length. “He’s definitely got ability and he goes better fresh,” Bosson said. “They went pretty quick up front, so I knew they’d be coming back to me. He’s a good racehorse.” Walker was delighted with the victory but puzzled by the slow getaway. “I don’t know what happened at the start, he was a bit slow away,” he said. “He’s got a great record fresh and he’s probably got a better win in him yet.” A stakes victory remains the missing piece on To Bravery Born’s CV, and Te Akau expects the Almanzor Trophy at Ellerslie to provide that opportunity. Stablemate La Dorada (Super Seth) finished fourth in the race on what was her New Zealand return following an unsuccessful stint in Australia, but Walker conceded the Group 1-winning filly has not rediscovered her best form. “It was a pass mark, but the jury is out,” the trainer said. “She hasn’t quite recaptured that two-year-old form.”
Dashing Dixie Karaka Millions bound
Wexford Stables are set to take their place in next month’s TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (RL, 1200m) after Dashing Dixie (Alabama Express) made a winning debut at Te Rapa on Saturday. The filly had shown promise with two trial placings and delivered immediately on raceday, controlling the four-runner field from in front and holding off Sword Of Stars (Sword Of State) to score by a half-length. Her maiden prize-money purse of $37,375 propelled her to equal-fourth in the current order of entry for the Karaka Millions, securing a start in the $1 million feature. “It’s probably no surprise to the team that she did what she did,” co-trainer Lance O’Sullivan said. “We rated her quite highly. With four runners, she was able to relax in front and quicken off the corner. The team certainly likes her and we’ve got a ticket in the big lottery now.” O’Sullivan and training partner Andrew Scott expect the filly to have one more run before the January 24 showpiece. “We’ll get home Monday and go through it as a team to make a decision on where to from here,” O’Sullivan said. “It will be good to have a runner in the Karaka Millions.” Bred by Lib Petagna’s Elsdon Park under the JML Bloodstock banner, Dashing Dixie is out of the unraced Zoustar (Northern Meteor) mare War Goddess, from the family of New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner She’s Country (Kenfair). She was purchased by Wexford for $340,000 from Elsdon Park’s Book 1 draft earlier this year. “We go through and do our homework and she was one we selected. We really liked her and had to pay a bit for her,” O’Sullivan said.
Queen Elizabeth next for exciting Tisse
Taranaki stayer Tisse (Belardo) confirmed he is right on target for his summer black type mission with a commanding performance in an open handicap over 2100 metres at Trentham on Sunday. The Allan Sharrock-trained gelding has been in superb form this campaign, and punters showed their confidence by sending him out a $1.70 favourite. From the outside draw, Kelly Myers allowed the five-year-old to settle at the rear before sliding into the race from the 800 metre-mark. Sweeping three wide on the bend, Tisse quickly asserted his superiority and charged clear to score by 2.3 lengths over Opawa Jack (War Decree). Myers was glowing in her assessment post-race. “I don’t think it would have mattered how I rode him today, he was just a class above,” she said. “He drops the bridle, and when you ask him to go, he goes. He picked them up and spat them out. He’s a very exciting horse.” Sharrock was equally satisfied with the gelding’s final outing ahead of his main summer assignment, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day. “It was a good lead-up to the race we want to try and win,” Sharrock said. “He goes better right-handed, as you saw with Opie [Bosson] at Ellerslie, so that has always been his target.” The trainer also noted that Tisse’s relaxed manner and natural fitness make him straightforward to prepare. “He doesn’t do a lot of work because anaerobically he is clean-winded. Lucky for a stayer, we don’t have to put too much into him, and he is so relaxed in a race.”