Hastings-trained mare Savvy Dreams is likely to have her next start in the Group 1 $200,000 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes at Ellerslie on March 10 following her game run for fifth in last Saturday's Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa.
The Savabeel mare drew the extreme outside barrier in the 2000m weight-for-age event at Te Rapa and struck unsuitable track conditions, which became a slow-9 after heavy rain fell there on Friday night and again on Saturday.
Guy Lowry, who trains Savvy Dreams in partnership with Grant Cullen, doubted the mare's ability to cope with the very wet track conditions, given that all her best form has been on footing rated no worse than dead.
"I knew she would struggle and I actually thought she would finish further back than she did. But she is one very tough mare and, although she never handled it, she still tried her heart out," Lowry said.
The pre-race plan was to hopefully settle Savvy Dreams just behind midfield from her wide draw and then hopefully improve her position starting the last 800 metres. But rider Samantha Collett was almost unseated when the mare ducked sideways as she bounded out of the barrier and she was clear last at end of the first 200 metres.
Collett said later that, when she tried to urge the mare to go forward in the middle stages, she felt her floundering in the ground and so elected to sit and wait until the home straight to angle her out into slightly better footing.
Just as Savvy Dreams started to go forward approaching the home turn another runner, Promise To Reign, pushed out inside the mare and shunted her eight-wide rounding the bend. She looked a forlorn hope after that but rallied gamely in the final 300 metres to pick up fifth stakemoney of $8500 for her connections.
Savvy Dreams was one of two horses the Lowry/Cullen stable lined up in the race, the other being Wait A Sec. He was expected to cope best out of the two in the testing ground but he got stuck down on the inside, in the worst part of the track, and couldn't quicken at all over the final stages when finishing a distant eighth.
Lowry said both horses were noticeably very tired immediately after the race but that both returned to normal after a couple of days, with Savvy Dreams back at the Hastings track on Tuesday where she underwent some slow work.
Lowry said Savvy Dreams won't have another run again until the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes, which is also run under weight-for-age conditions over 2000m.
Meanwhile Wait A Sec is one of a team of horses the Lowry/Cullen team will have campaigning at the upcoming Poverty Bay and Wairoa meetings.
Wait A Sec will contest the $30,000 Wairoa Cup (2100m) on February 25 and, providing he performs well there, he will also then head to Ellerslie on March 10 for the Group 1 $500,000 Auckland Cup (3200m).
The annual Poverty Bay meeting will be staged at Gisborne this Sunday while the two-day Wairoa meeting will be on the following Thursday and Sunday.
Other horses the Lowry/Cullen stable intend to campaign at either Gisborne or Wairoa include Pakapunch, Saint Kitt, Silhouette Beauty, Real Beach, Strut, Tuigold, Uncle Bro, Dare To Rock, Aperol, Deb, Voxer and Rainbowone.
Lowland next for Dijon Bleu
Dijon Bleu has taken a commanding lead in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year series following her outstanding win in last Saturday's Listed $100,000 Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa.
The daughter of Burgundy has now amassed 22 points in the series, with second placed Contessa Vanessa on 13.5. Hasahalo is lying third on the table with 12 points and Hello It's Me is the next best on 8.
There are three races left in the series, the Group 3 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hastings on March 1, the Group 3 McKee Family Sunline Vase (2100m) at Ellerslie on March 3 and the Group 1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on March 17.
The Lowland Stakes and the Sunline Vase both carry points of six for a win, three for second and 1.5 for third while the points allocated for the New Zealand Oaks are 12 for a win, seven for second and 3.5 for third.
Dijon Bleu's Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta said the filly is likely to contest the Lowland Stakes next and a decision on whether or not she then goes on to the Oaks will be made after that.
Dijon Bleu won the first leg of the series, the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings at the beginning of September last year and has been campaigned right through since then. She was subsequently placed in both the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton and Group 3 Eulogy Stakes (1550m) at Awapuni before posting a dominant victory in the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham. She then produced another commanding display at Te Rapa last Saturday in what was her first start beyond 1600m.
Jockey Jonathan Riddell, who was replacing the suspended Leith Innes, settled Dijon Bleu midfield and bided his time, waiting for the gaps to appear in the home straight.
They managed to get a split between horses 300 metres out and Dijon Bleu showed an amazing turn of foot to sprint clear and then hold out the fast finishing Mark Two by three-quarters of a length.
Boxachocolates weighted out
The connections of Boxachocolates have sent the lightly-tried stayer to Australia for a sweeter future.
They believe the Alamosa five-year-old has become too difficult to place in New Zealand and he has headed to Melbourne where he will be trained by Stephen Brown at Flemington.
"I've got 25 horses and we looked after Boxachocolates and now he's gone instead of running in our cup races," former trainer Mike Breslin said.
"There's been no falling out between the owners and I and I don't blame them the way things are."
The trans-Tasman move was prompted following Boxachocolates' win off a 54kg minimum at Awapuni in December.
"There wasn't a Rating 85 for him so we had to run in the Cup Prelude, a $35,000 race and he got 17 points – that was only the fourth win of his life," Breslin said.
"Authentic Paddy, a Group One winner, and Ocean Emperor, who won the Group 2 at Tauranga, were in the field, but the handicapper didn't use any discretion and my horse went from the minimum to 58.5kg."
Boxachocolates was unplaced in the Group 3 Manawatu Cup (2100m) a week later when on a rating of 88.
"I rang Racing Victoria and said to them that I was considering bringing the horse over and they said he would be rated 78," Breslin said.
"When I relayed that to the owners it wasn't really a surprise they decided to send him to a Melbourne trainer."
Ugo Foscolo back in NZ
Group One winner Ugo Foscolo will be back on track tomorrow week.
"He was going to trial at Matamata this week, but they were cancelled, so he'll go straight to the open 1200m on Matamata Cup day," trainer Stephen Marsh said. "He looks great and it's great to have him back."
Marsh prepared Ugo Foscolo won his first three starts in New Zealand in 2016, including the El Roca Three-year-old Sprint (1200m) at Hastings. He then went on to take out the Group 2 Sarten Memorial (1400m) at Te Rapa and the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton, before the son of Zacinto transferred to the Sydney stable of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
Muscle soreness restricted him to just one unplaced run in Australia before he returned home.
Aussie coming for Derby
Australian-trained three-year-old has been confirmed as a likely starter in the Group 1 $1million Vodafone New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie on March 3.
The Darren Weir-trained colt is the winner of four races from only 10 starts and scored an effortless 2-3/4 length victory in the Listed Tasmanian Derby (2200m) last Friday. He was also successful over 2000m at Flemington on New Year's Day.
New Zealand-bred Civil Disobedience is by Raise The Flag out of Pernote and was a $32,500 purchase from a 2016 South Island sale when offered from the draft from White Robe Lodge.
Jasd bound for Hong Kong
Unbeaten three-year-old gelding Jasd will be making his way to Hong Kong after being sold by Waikato bloodstock agent Bryce Tankard to clients of expatriate New Zealand trainer Paul O'Sullivan.
Formerly trained by Tony Pike, Jasd won impressively on debut at Taupo by nearly two lengths late last year before winning his only other start over 1400m at Trentham on Wellington Cup day.
Jasd was originally purchased by Tankard out of the 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale. He went to $240,000 to secure the son of Sepoy out of Kilgravin Lodge's draft for another Hong Kong client.
"He's a horse that has always shown plenty of ability and we just took him along quietly because he is a lovely big horse and we didn't want to rush him," Tankard said.
"The current owner didn't have a permit for Hong Kong and he has sold a few horses up to Hong Kong that have gone on to do very good jobs. So he is always open to the deal of moving a few horses."