Northland Breeders Stakes: She’s No Saint has home-track edge at Ruakaka

She's No Saint was a last-start winner on her home track at Ruakākā. Photo / Therese Davis

Trainer Michelle Bradley knows stable star She’s No Saint has a few advantages as the great 3-year-old rankings machine cranks into gear this weekend.

The countdown to the Guineas races, headlined by the 1000 and 2000 Guineas at Riccarton in three months, kicks off with the $100,000 Cambridge Stud Northland Breeders Stakes at Ruakākā tomorrow, then doubles down with the new $100,000 Chittick Family Fillies Classic at Taupō on Sunday.

The two races have real depth considering how early it is in the season, aided by black type, six-figure stakes and potentially decent tracks.

The two races are split relatively evenly on class too, with Ruakākā attracting a couple of the big boys from last season like Karaka Millions favourite Kinnaird, while Taupō has not just the fillies’ race but a boys’ 1100m earlier in its programme.

And the top rung of the 3-year-old ladder is up for grabs in coming weeks as our two best juveniles from last season, Lara Antipova and Seize The Day, have both been transferred to Te Akau’s Victorian stable.

So while the major Guineas races can’t be won or lost this weekend, some Group 1 dreams are going to have flourished or disappeared by Sunday night.

Bradley says that is the exact position she and the owners of She’s No Saint find themselves in tomorrow.

“Sure, if she shows she can run 1400m later in the spring and suggests 1600m would be okay, we’d love to take her to Riccarton,” she told the Herald.

“But that is a long way away yet, and this is one of the races we have set her for, obviously being at home.

“So she has that advantage, and I think her draw [barrier 5] could work out perfectly. But really, we don’t know how good many of these horses are just yet and are about to start finding out.”

She’s No Saint has not only that home track and fitness edge but was probably an underrated filly last season, good enough to finish sixth in the Karaka Millions when still on the way up.

“That was a bonus for her, and she has come on really well since. So if she can sit maybe just off the speed with horses like Shalabiya drawn directly inside her, we will find out where she sits in the pecking order.”

Drawn inside them both is the very quick Summer Schemer, so the race could set up with a fast early 400m before the fillies look to button off and start to boogie from the top of the straight, making it hard for those settling beyond midfield.

Bradley also suggests stablemate Bourbon Proof should be a good chance earlier in Race 4, with Jack Taplin taking 2kg off his handicap in a field lacking form.