PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Flower Of Wanaka – Hastings 1^st July

Incredible first-up performance by Flower Of Wanaka, winning at Listed level despite her last public outing being in R65 company in December 2022. The training performance by Chrissy Bambry was outstanding, to have this 4yo mare winning first-up for 6 months is one thing, let alone winning in Listed company on a Heavy10. The race looked to be run at a genuine tempo throughout, being setup by tearaway leader, Wessex, which makes this first-up win that much more impressive by Flower Of Wanaka.

RIDE OF THE WEEK

Warren Kennedy – Treaty Of Paris

A perfectly judged steer from Warren Kennedy aboard Treaty Of Paris saw the pair put this race to bed a long way from home. After settling just off the leaders early, Warren Kennedy took initiative shortly past the 1000m mark, where he caught the leaders napping with a sharp midrace move. This decision put an ever-increasing gap between Treaty Of Paris and his key rivals in the race.

Ruakaka 1^st July Race 3 – Bosch & Chevron

The performance of Bosch in Race 3 from Ruakaka on Saturday was simply remarkable. After withstanding pressure from Chevron throughout the 2100m contest, Bosch fought on bravely to only be beaten 0.4L 3^rd. This brave performance, coupled with the significant market confidence suggests Bosch is worth following wherever he lines up next, especially if that is at Ruakaka.

Chevron is another to follow out of this race. He weakened right out after working hard throughout under the 62.5kg impost. The sharp increase in weight and distance, as well contesting the hot tempo throughout was not a recipe for success for Chevron on Saturday. I’m willing to forgive and forget this run, he is much better than what he showed on Saturday and should only improve through his campaign with more suitable race conditions.

Cambridge Synthetic 28^th June – Kakadu

Ultra impressive debut win by Kakadu at Cambridge Synthetic on Wednesday. The 3yo son of El Roca worked at both ends of his race, setting the fastest early 400m in the race, whilst also recording the fastest closing 800, 600m, 400m and 200m. Locally trained by Ben Foote, Kakadu looked to relish the synthetic footing, pinning his ears back and running hard through the line over the 970m trip. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him continue on with this winning form, the synthetic track over Winter should continue to suit him.