Heart Of Stone and jockey Chris Johnson are out on their own at the finish of the 1200m maiden at Woodville last Sunday.
It may have only been a Sunday maiden race at Woodville but Hastings-trained Heart Of Stone certainly got tongues wagging when she demolished her rivals over 1200m at Woodville last Sunday, in a quick time.
The John Bary-trained 3-year-old filly took a clear lead at the end of the first 200m of the 1200m event and was never in danger of defeat from then on.
Jockey Chris Johnson had a stranglehold on the daughter of Swiss Ace as they came to the home turn and hardly had to move a muscle in the home straight as the filly blitzed her rivals by 4-1/4 lengths.
Commentator Tony Lee was in raptures in calling the filly home, saying Johnson was swinging on the horse in the run to the line and he thought she was a filly that still had 10 lengths improvement on that performance.
Heart Of Stone was being eased down at the finish by Johnson and still recorded a quick 1:09.18 for the 1200m which was more than half a second faster than Vincent took in winning the previous race for Rating 65 rated horses.
Bary was not surprised by the win, saying the filly had always shown plenty of ability.
"She won a trial before her first start last year and also won a jumpout at Hastings a couple of weeks ago. In the jumpouts I get my track riders to ride my horses so they are usually carrying a lot more weight than the others," Bary said.
Heart Of Stone won an 850m trial at Foxton at the beginning of this season before a debut second behind the highly rated Lincoln Falls over 1100m at Woodville in September.
"She then whacked a leg but it was not major," Bary said.
"I actually saw it happen. She was bucking and carrying on in her paddock and hit a tendon."
Bary said the injury didn't require a long layoff but he decided to give the filly plenty of time to recover before a long slow build up back to race fitness.
He is now looking at starting Heart Of Stone in the $30,000 3-year-old race over 1200m at Awapuni on March 30.
"That looks the logical next race for her but we are just taking it one step at a time," Bary said.
Heart Of Stone is owned by New Zealand Thoroughbred Holdings Limited and bred by the company's head, Australian millionaire Gerry Harvey.
She is the latest star in a growing list of horses by Swiss Ace that John Bary has had success with, the most successful being the 3-year-old filly Miss Labasa.
She won three races in a row earlier this season and finished seventh in last Saturday's Group 2 Wellington Guineas (1400m). She has now been turned out for a spell, along with stablemate King Louis who finished sixth in the same race.
Waipukurau-trained Pep Torque is building a strong affinity with the big roomy Trentham track.
The 5-year-old Nadeem gelding brought up his fourth victory and his third on the Wellington Racing Club's course when successful in a $30,000 Rating 72 race over 1600m there last Saturday.
Trained at Waipukurau by Kirsty Lawrence, Pep Torque has also recorded two seconds, two thirds, two fourths and a fifth from his 23 starts and Saturday's success took his stake earnings to more than $72,000.
That is a great return on the $2600 Lawrence and her husband Steve paid for the horse from the thoroughbred trading operation Gavelhouse.
The Lawrences race Pep Torque in partnership with stable employee Susan Best and the sisters Diana and Christina Newman, who have been long time stable clients.
Pep Torque is out of the Star Way mare Cosmic Flight, who recorded two wins and seven minor placings from only 20 starts.
Kirsty Lawrence said Pep Torque is not overly big but he has been very honest and is a delight to train.
"He's a lazy trackworker and will hit the line and pull up before you have even gone 20 metres past the winning post. But yet he is a different horse on race day."
The horse has obviously come through last Saturday's win in perfect order as he is now expected to back up in the $20,000 Masterton Cup (1600m) at Tauherenikau on Sunday.
Former Hastings-trained Excuses Xcuses brought up the seventh win of her career when successful in an $11,000 Rating 82 race over 1400m at Ashburton last Thursday.
The No Excuse Needed 7-year-old was initially trained at Hastings by John Bary, who bred and owns the mare in partnership with long time stable client Ivan Grieve.
She won four races from the Bary stable before being leased out to a South Island syndicate and has since added another three wins for Rangiora trainer John Blackadder.
Xcuses Xcuses is out of the Shinko King mare Xpectacular, who looked smart when winning her debut over 1200m in May 2009 but only had one more start before injury forced her early retirement.
She has also left the winner Chouxperb, by Jimmy Choux.
Promising stayer Felaar will be using tomorrow's $30,000 Drymix Bay Of Plenty Cup at Tauranga as a stepping stone to the Listed $75,000 Royston Hospital Hawke's Bay Cup at Hastings on April 13.
The Ekraar 5-year-old, rated by trainer Stephen Marsh as "a top stayer in the making", has not raced since winning over 2200m at Otaki almost a month ago but that is not expected to detract from his chances this weekend.
With Marsh over in Australia this week overseeing the team he is campaigning there, stable foreman Rhys Mildon has been in charge back in Cambridge and said this week that Felaar will go into Saturday's Tauranga race a very fit horse.
"He's come through his last race at Otaki very well and looks in great order," Mildon said.
"This race will be his final lead up before the Hawke's Bay Cup."
Felaar is dropping back in distance to 2100m this Saturday but Mildon does not see that being a problem.
"Not at all. He's a big, lean horse who doesn't take a lot of work and actually goes best when his races are spaced.
"He's a lot bigger and stronger horse now than last year."
Felaar has won only three races but Marsh thought enough of the horse to send him south for a crack at the New Zealand Cup (3200m) in the spring.
He was a gallant second in the Metropolitan Trophy Handicap (2500m) on the first day of the cup carnival and started favourite for the Cup a week later, finishing third behind Bizzwinkle and Duplicity.
Hastings trainer John Bary was pleased with Vinnie's Volley's fifth placing in the Listed Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Trentham last Saturday and he is hoping she can gain some black-type by season's end.
"I was very proud of her. It was her first time in the big league," Bary said.
"I know she had a light weight, but she ran fifth and was one and a-half lengths off some of the big boy sprinters in New Zealand, so I was very pleased with her."
Bary is eyeing the Listed $50,000 NZB Finance Sprint (1200m) at Hastings on April 13 with his charge before putting her out in the spelling paddock in preparation for the spring.
"I'd love to run third at Hastings, get that bit of black-type, then put her aside and come back in the spring with her.
Meanwhile Cambridge trainer Ross McCarroll may also target the Listed Open sprint at Hastings on April 13 with Chicane after her game last stride win in a Rating 82 race over 1200m at Tauranga last Saturday.
The Coats Choice mare brought up her fifth success from 18 starts when she came with a nicely timed rails run to get up and knock off Dama Zoro by a nose.
Chicane brought up her 10th dividend bearing placing from 17 starts and McCarroll, who is also a part-owner in the mare, said she has rarely run a bad race.
"She's a very good mare, especially with a cut in the ground," McCarroll said.
Rodger Finlay put his money where his heart is at Trentham last Saturday.
Finlay and his wife, Emily, race Wellington Guineas winner Emily Margaret and will donate the winning stake from the $100,000 Group 2 race to a Christchurch community reeling from last weekend's mosque attacks.
It was a decision the Christchurch couple took several hours before Emily Margaret shaded Vigor Winner and Dawn Patrol in the tightest finish of the day.
"We discussed it after breakfast [on Saturday morning] and decided that if we were lucky enough to get any stakemoney, that we would give it away," Rodger said.
"She was the only Christchurch-based horse in the field and we felt she was representing the Christchurch community.
"We didn't have the money before the race and then one minutes, 24 seconds later we had the money. It was an easy decision to give it away.
"It's been a pretty tough time for Christchurch and there's still a very subdued mood down here."
The net first prize in the Guineas, after the deduction of the winning percentages for the trainers and rider, will be about $50,000.