Plenty of action out of Purdon Racing this week highlighted by rising two year old star,Rubira, lining up at Addington on Wednesday alongside Party Central, young trotters High Step and Look To Da Stars aiming at greater things after Cambridge; Chase a Dream, Vessem and We Walk By Faith in another Sires Stakes heat ; young pacers Jetasi,Renaldo,and Becker making their debut at the trials on Tuesday along with young trotter Luby’s Luck and Without You;and Olivia making anothere start as a trainer with her young trotter Starstruck. Trojan Princess is making her debut at Ashburton and of course Franco Indie lines up in the $100,000 Country Cups Final at Addington.
Franco Indie
RUBIRA is headed for the Welcome Stakes and will be renewing his battles with Always Dreaming on Wednesday who almost toppled him him in the Diamond Classic. The preferential draw works against the Purdon fave and it is not a D Day race but he is ready for the battle.
“We gave him those few days to see whether to go on with his prep.and he has probably exceeded expectations so another Group One is an obvious target. Party Central’s last run might be a bit underrated. If you analyse the sectionals it was much better than it seemed. If he could run in three he will be going to the Welcome Stakes for sure too” Nathan said.
HIGH STEP and LOOK TO DA STARS are in a Discretionary Trot at Cambridge with the Sires Stakes Championship on the horizon the following week.
“High Step is catching up after missing some racing and Look To Da Stars certainly looks the part and trialled really well”
Natalie takes the drive on CHASE A DREAM and Blair on VESSEM in their Sires Stakes heat with a driver WE WALK BY FAITH yet to be confirmed. On last week’s form they should all be competitive, Chase a Dream having to start from an awkward gate as a result of his win then.
Nathan is not expecting any Auckland Reactor/Lazarus type trials debuts from Tuesday’s youngsters but has an open mind on how they can develop. JETASI is a son of Bettor’s Delight and Janaka a Christian Cullen mare tracing to legendary performers such as dual NZ Cup winning mare Haughty and probably looking and for offspring lifting closer to that level.He is raced by several members of the Millwood Nike partnership led also by Steve Byrne.
RENALDO, another well named youngster raced by Jean Feiss and a son of the now veteran mare Georgia Brooke is a full brother to Bollinger and a sister to Madrid, one a fine winner and the other promising to become one. Jean kept up the football association naming her Vincent-Lily Lancome colt BECKER, a Studholme Bloodstock product whose granddam was the dual Harness Jewels winner Lancome.
We Walk By Faith
Lily Lancome has not hit great heights yet as a broodmare though a return to the Art Major line through Vincent after several seasons with Somebeachsomewhere and his son Captain Treacherous could do the trick.
LUBY’S LUCK (What the Hill-Luby Ann) is at an early stage of her trotting career too.
“I am regarding it as an experience trial. I know she will make the grade one day but these are early days on the learning curve” Nathan said
Luby’s Luck is the 4th foal from proven American broodmare Luby Ann by What the Hill.The first of those, Luby Lill, has been a good winner from the Tony Herlihy stable.Luby Ann had already hit up a great cross with What the Hill’s sire Muscle Hill, her first foal, Luby Lou, having only 5 starts -winning four, including her debut race as a two year old and her last race the NZ Trotting Derby beating Inter Dominion champion Winterfell and Majestic Man. Luby Ann’s only other Muscle Hill foal, Tickle Me Pink was also a Group 1 winner in the Harness Jewels series also from the Herlihy stable.
TROJAN PRINCESS,due to debut Sunday is another youngster looking to take the next step and how she does that will probably decided her immediate programme.
WITHOUT YOU is a full sister to the filly Shezsofast syndicated by Mark and Nathan this year, but this one bought and raced by Jean Feiss and the first Captain Crunch to emerge from the stable.She qualified recently and the plan at the moment is to possibly give her a race before going out for a break,depending on how the trial goes.
“She has improved since she came into the stable and is responding well to the attention she has had”
Plans to run the juvenile pacer DEMON BLUE in the Welcome Stakes have been scrapped after his failure in the Young Guns Final
” He is suffering from a greasy heel which probably affected him last week and he will be eased” Nathan said
“The rest of Friday’s team,while they didn’t do everything we hoped,seem to have come through their races well and will get a breather this weekend to help them through some busy racing”
Meanwhile Olivia makes her training debut at Rangiora Tuesday with STARSTRUCK a youngster she has had in hand for some time and races with her mother, Jackie. The combination bred Starstruck by Volstead, having qualified a half-brother by Creatine last year named Star Creation which has not raced.They have a younger half -sister also by Creatine.
The granddam Armour Lea won her two year old trotting debut at Addington while the outstanding Staka Gold and Glowing Gold were earlier prominent performers from the family.