Quality mare About Time returned to the winner’s circle at Ellerslie on Saturday and her trainer Lance Noble is hoping to continue that trend on Thursday with a trio of runners. 

A four-year-old owned and bred by Brendan and Jo Lindsay of Cambridge Stud, About Time performed well in her three-year-old term, placing in the Listed Trevor and Corallie Memorial 3YO (1500m), before taking out the Gr.2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (2000m).

After working through the distances this prep, she finally struck her favoured middle-distance trip in the Dunstan Horsefeeds Stayers Championship Qualifier (2100m) and in the hands of Warren Kennedy, she found a comfortable position midfield. Kennedy eased off the fence turning for home and pinning her ears back, the mare found plenty in the straight to run down Final Return by a head.

Noble was pleased with the performance, while praising the efforts of the starting crew at Ellerslie who kept the mare calm prior to the jump.

“It was a good win, she’s just a handful at the starting gates which is a bit of a concern,” he said. “The guys at the starting gates do a fantastic job with her.

“It was her first time back over ground this prep and she won nicely, so hopefully we can push on to the Dunstan Stayers Final on Boxing Day.”

The daughter of American Pharoah is set to take her place in the Dunstan Horsefeeds Stayers Championship Final (2400m) at the course in three weeks’ time, while the Gr.3 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2400m) is also a possibility on New Year’s Day.

“The Cup is more of an option at this stage, we’ll probably run her in the Dunstan, and if she came through it well, we might consider backing her up and she has backed up well before,” Noble said.

“She does get in well in the Dunstan, so we’ll probably just target that.”

The Cambridge Stud contingent will head back to the northern headquarters on Thursday with a trio of three-year-old fillies, including impressive last-start winner First Dance.

At her third race-day appearance last time out, the Zousain filly made light work of her maiden rivals, and remaining at the 1200m distance, she could earn herself a black-type opportunity in the Cambridge Stud 1200.

“Her last start was a very good run, she had a second then got a strong win at Ellerslie,” Noble said.

“We gave her a couple of weeks off after that and she’s come back really nice and bright, she may need the run on Thursday but I think she’ll go pretty well, and there are some nice races over Christmas and New Years back at Ellerslie.

“At the moment, I think the 1200 suits her, and if she went really well, we may look at the Auckland Guineas (Gr.2, 1400m) on Boxing Day.”

Love Symbol and Venetian have both been nominated for the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series (1400m) and the Barfoot And Thompson (1400m), the latter in their own age group. Love Symbol has recorded two placings in her last two starts, with the step-up in distance expected to suit the daughter of Savabeel.

“She’s been a bit of a work in progress, she’s wanted to over-race and do a few things wrong, but with a bit of practice, I think she’s learned what to do,” Noble said.

“She’s put a couple of nice races together, so hopefully with the extra distance, she can go pretty close.

“Venetian has had a few runs, she’s not big and robust at the moment, but I think she’ll run well.

"We’ll give her a little spell after this meeting on Thursday.”