Australian return on agenda for "Untapped" Kiwi galloper
Trainer Graeme Rogerson has confirmed Sharp ‘N’ Smart will again race in Australia this autumn.
The three-year-old claimed his second Group 1 when taking out the Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa on Saturday, making it four wins from eight career starts for the New Zealander.
After already tasting success at the elite level in Australia when winning the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick last October, a return trip across the Tasman is high on the agenda.
Rogerson, who trains in partnership with wife Debbie, says the New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie on March 4 is on the cards before Sharp ‘N’ Smarts returns to Australian shores.
Once back, the ATC Derby (2400m) on April 1 and Queen Elizabeth (2000m) on April 8 in Sydney are possible options, while a return to Brisbane - where he has raced previously - for the Queensland Derby (2400m) in late May has been floated.
"We’ve got a few options after the New Zealand Derby. He was going to go straight from the New Zealand Derby to the ATC Derby,” Rogerson said on SENTrack’s Giddy Up.
“If he really pulled up well and ate up, we may back him up in the Queen Elizabeth. Then that’ll be him for this time in.
“Queensland (Racing) wanted him to go to Queensland for the Derby. They’ve been very good to me in the past, so we’ll just play every bridge as we come to it.
“It would be nice for him to finish off in the Queen Elizabeth in Sydney but he’d have to do everything right and we’d have to be happy with him.”
Rogerson believes Sharp ‘N’ Smart has so much “untapped ability” that a possible sojourn to Hong Kong later in the year after the Spring Carnival in Melbourne is also a possibility.
He revealed that star jockey Hugh Bowman, who partnered with the gelding to win the Spring Champion, has already shown considerable interest in riding him at Sha Tin or Happy Valley.
“His potential hasn’t been touched. You call him dumb, I suppose, because he wants to play all the time,” he added.
“I think he’s just still learning. He has untapped ability.
“This is his third trip across the Tasman coming up. My aim is after the spring that he finishes off his spring up in Hong Kong.
“Hughie has already rung and said we want him in Hong Kong. Hopefully he’ll go up there for the mile and a half after Melbourne.
“He’s got plenty ahead of him so we’re certainly programming him.”
Sharp ‘N’ Smart has raced five times in Australia with his most recent effort coming in the Group 1 Victoria Derby when he ran second to Manzoice in the spring.
Listen to Graeme's interview on SENTrack's Giddy Up with Gareth Hall.