PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Saturday 30^th September Hastings – Joe Doyle

It was a day to remember for Joe Doyle, with the talented hoop getting his second taste of Group 1 success since joining the New Zealand jockey ranks last season. Not only did Joe take out the Group 1 Arrowfield Stud Plate aboard Mustang Valley, he also won the first two races on the card aboard Diss Is Dramatic and Channel Surfer. This treble cemented Joe’s lead atop the New Zealand Jockey Premiership, where he sits five wins clear of Michael McNab.

Futures Follow

Saturday 30^th September Riccarton Race 10 – It’s Business Time

This lightly tried 5yo mare dominated her opposition on Saturday in the last race out of Riccarton, bringing up her 4^th win in succession. It’s Business Time is currently on a path towards the Gr.3 19^th Coupland’s Bakeries Mile, where she is now a leading contender after back-to-back impressive victories in the South Island. From a futures perspective, she has now shown she can handle any conditions thrown at her, whilst also winning over 1600m last season, I expect she could be awfully hard to beat come the Couplands in November.

Small Stable

Wednesday 27^th September Cambridge Synthetic – Trevor Da Cruz, Mark Treweek & Karen Fursdon

It was a big day for the small stables at Cambridge Synthetic on Wednesday, where 3 of the 8 races were won by trainers who have 5 or less runners in their stable. Brontes Gold proved to strong in Race 2 for Trevor Da Cruz (Stable of 4), bringing up the trainer’s second win of the season from three starters. Lhasa gripped on for Mark Treweek (Stable of 3) in Race 4, which was his 2^nd winner of the season from 4 starters. The Karen Fursdon (Stable of 5) trained Miss Solitaire saluted impressively in Race 6, which brought up Karen’s first win of the season from 3 starters.

Blackbooker

Saturday 30^th September Hastings Race 3 – El Vencedor

Although he races much better on top of the ground, handy sprinter El Vencedor held his own when finishing 4^th beaten 0.7L at Hastings on Saturday. This was El Vencedor’s third run back in his campaign, suggesting he may still have some improvement heading into the next run of his preparation. Should he find reasonable footing for his next assignment, I expect El Vencedor to be competitive wherever he lines up next.

Running Hot

Saturday 30^th September Hastings Race 3 – Old Town Road

Old Town Road got connections to suit at Hastings on Saturday, where the mudlark picked up yet another Heavy track win, whilst also claiming his second victory in 7 days. Despite now being well into Spring, connections of Old Town Road will be praying the wet weather continues, as with the form he is in he will prove tough to beat wherever he can find a Heavy surface.