PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Sharp ‘N’ Smart

What a win by this horse in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa on Saturday!

From the outside draw, Ryan Elliot attempted to put him in the race early, but a number of runners held him out leaving the straight the first time. From that point on, he was forced to take a sit and ease out of the early speed battle. To no avail, SHARP ‘N’ SMART was caught three-wide throughout and upon straightening, had a bumping duel with CAMPIONESSA. Considering he was taking on the older horses at WFA at 2000m second up this prep, he had every reason to fade after being caught wide throughout, but he managed to reel off the fastest last 200m sectional of the race.

RIDE OF THE WEEK

Courtney Barnes – Divine Sava

Courtney’s ride on DIVINE SAVA to score in the last race at Riccarton on Saturday was top notch. An outsider in the market, DIVINE SAVA also had barrier 16 to contend with. Courtney summed it up with in the first 200m, after not jumping well, she sensed they could get caught wide and decided to roll to the lead and control the race. From that point on, DIVINE SAVA was never headed and was dominant in the end, scoring by 6 ¾ lengths.

HORSES TO FOLLOW

Race 1 Te Rapa, Saturday February 11

Nom De Plume

Having just her second run this prep, NOM DE PLUME showed no early speed. She was still last with 300m to go and was brought to the outside to make a strong late run. A filly who showed plenty of ability as a 3YO, she was taken to Queensland for an Oaks campaign which saw her score a win over 2150m in the lead up to the Queensland Oaks. The 1400m trip on Saturday was always going to be short of her best and sectionally she has shown that once she steps up over more ground, we are likely to see her back in the winner’s circle soon.

Race 6 Te Rapa, Saturday February 11

Campionessa

A late nomination for the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes, CAMPIONESSA received a beautiful run-in transit from gate 3. Until the top of the straight, she was improving between horses and scouting wider for a run when she was pocketed by SHARP ‘N’ SMART, costing her crucial momentum. It took another 100m before Opie Bosson was able to get her clear air and wind up again. She managed to record the fastest last 800m, 600m & 400m sectionals of the race, which is encouraging for her connections now she’s proven at WFA level and a race like the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2050m) on March 11 at Pukekohe could be a possibility for her next start.

Race 4 Riccarton, Saturday February 11

Lucky Simon

He was able to get into a nice spot around mid-field on the rail early, however, when looking for runs on the corner, Terry Moseley was forced to take LUCKY SIMON around runners, only for the horse he was following in the run to get a gap near the inside and be the horse that beats him by a small margin on the line. LUCKY SIMON presented as one of the widest runners in to the straight and actually hit the front until the final 100m where he appeared to peak on his run and was headed by the eventual winner MADAME GISELLE. LUCKY SIMON is another who seems to be learning with each run and this effort suggests he is not too far away from breaking maiden.