Akuta is back on the trail for redemption aiming at the Auckland Cup on New Year’s Eve and a solid workout at Pukehohe on Saturday will tell the stable how far along that path he is.
Akuta failed to run up to his best form at the New Zealand Cup meeting and had a short spell at Morrinsiville before getting the all clear to hit the Cup trail.
“The post Addington tests showed a blood problem but he seems back to his best healthwise. It will be interesting to see how he goes on Saturday. Dad is happy with what he has done so far. All going well he will be ready to go next week (Franklin Cup) as a leadup to December 31” Nathan said.
“ He had to do a lot of buildup to catch up for the Cup and it meant quite a number of races closer together than was ideal and I think it just might have caught up with him” Nathan suggested.
Mark has also had Oscar Bonavena at his Waikato base who will be aimed at the big features in the New Year. Most of the NZ Cup meeting team were given longer breaks with horses like Rubira returning to work next week and Nathan is expecting to have a light representation at the Auckland meeting in comparison to other years with a number of youngsters going through their first preparations keeping him well occupied.
“Look to Da Stars continues to do well.He should be hard to beat in the Metro Final and Arden’s Memory is still on the up and will be competitive on Friday with some luck in the running. We are looking forward to finding whether Look to Da Stars can take the next step and I am confident he can on the way he is going”