Racing: Seashore frolic to prepare cups favourite

By MIKE DILLON

If you're surfing at Ruakaka this weekend, watch out for the horse in the breakers - it will be Caulfield-Melbourne Cups favourite Kaapstad Way.

A stray surfboard in the leg could cost the connections of the high-class stayer something like $4 million.

Co-trainer Chris Wood is taking Kaapstad Way to the Ruakaka races with the runners he has at Saturday's meeting simply to further the horse's preparation.

"The trip up there and a bit of work in the surf will bring him on just that little bit more," Wood said.

Kaapstad Way has been in work for a month, doing nearly two weeks on a walking Machine followed by two weeks of "nice steady pacework."

Wood says Kaapstad Way is considerably stronger than at the same stage last spring.

Which could spell disaster for the stayers in Melbourne this spring.

Last year Kaapstad Way turned in a remarkable performance in the Caulfield Cup to come from last at the 700m and finish second to Diatribe, who secured a race-winning saloon passage along the rails for Jim Cassidy.

His luck was completely out in the Melbourne Cup when he and Damien Oliver were relegated to the back of the field a couple of early checks.

"At the 800m he must have been 20 lengths off them, and by the home turn he was right up in behind the leaders," Chris Wood said.

Kaapstad Way's bad luck continued when he was off-colour in Hong Kong for the Queen Elizabeth Cup in December, preventing him from starting.

"He's definitely filled out and looking stronger now," Wood said.

"He had a week off before he flew out of Hong Kong, had two weeks in Sydney and had a nice break here before it got cold. And we've only had a couple of frosts this winter in Cambridge."

Kaapstad Way is 12-1 favourite for the $A2.25 Caulfield Cup and second favourite behind Universal Prince for the $A4 million Melbourne Cup.

Wood says he is 99 per cent certain he will give Kaapstad Way just the one race in New Zealand, the $150,000 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes at Hastings on August 25 before heading to Australia.

That means missing the $350,000 Kelt Capital Stakes.

"I know that's a fabulous stake they've put up, and good on them, but it suits us to be in Australia earlier.

"Kaapstad Way travels and settles in well and, to be fair, every horse that's half decent in New Zealand will be in the Kelt Stakes, whereas the options are more spread in Melbourne and the races there might be easier."

A rider in Melbourne has not been confirmed for Kaapstad Way, but it's a fair bet Damien Oliver will end up on the horse.

* Class mare Showella has been retired.

The decision was made yesterday when the group one winner began to show signs of discomfort in the near front leg she damaged in Melbourne last spring.

Showella's Caulfield-Melbourne cups campaign was halted last year when she strained a pastern ligament racing at Caulfield.

"It's a recurring type of injury and while we were hopeful of getting further into a campaign than this, we were always just hoping," co-trainer Frank Ritchie said yesterday.

Showella had been in the early stages of a possible Melbourne spring campaign.

She had two races in Australia earlier this year, finishing unplaced in the Australian Cup and Mercedes Classic.

Showella will be flown to Sydney early next month to be mated with Flying Spur, whose form as a stallion in the last two seasons has been spectacular.