Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Danzdanzdance to hit firm deck at Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa racecourse

By NZ Racing Desk
Northern Advocate·
8 Feb, 2019 05:30 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Northland 4-year-old mare Danzdanzdance will look to quash the doubters at the Herbie Dyke Stakes in Hamilton today. Photo / Trish Dunnell

Northland 4-year-old mare Danzdanzdance will look to quash the doubters at the Herbie Dyke Stakes in Hamilton today. Photo / Trish Dunnell

Outstanding Northland 4-year-old Danzdanzdance could not have been more impressive, winning her last two starts, with Group One triumphs in the Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) and Zabeel Classic (2000m) effectively turned into a one-act affair.

But the lingering question is whether the ever-improving mare can repeat those performances on a good track, with respective conditions of Slow8 and Heavy10 the scene for those victories.

Today's Group One Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa racecourse in Hamilton will be an opportunity for the popular grey to quash any doubters, with a Good3 track to offer no excuses for her rivals.

Punters have backed the daughter of Mastercraftsman into the $1.85 favourite with Australian jockey Michael Rodd set to jet in from Singapore to take the reins with Opie Bosson, who has ridden Danzdanzdance to her past two wins, suspended.

"We're really happy with our mare," Chris Gibbs said, who trains in partnership with Michelle Bradley.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"She was always a fairly light-framed mare and she didn't used to hold her condition as well as we would like, but now she has matured a bit more and mentally she is a lot better."

Gibbs said Danzdanzdance raced well fresh and they had purposely spaced her runs this preparation.

"There's a bit of a routine that we go through where she has a few days off after her runs," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It depends on how many days in-between runs as to how long we put her out for and just how well she comes through each run. We adjust it accordingly.

"This particular time, she just had a few days in the paddock and then we started off again and hopefully we're all right. But each time we go to the races she is actually doing better and better, so we've got to be a little bit careful."

The Ruakākā conditioner said they had made use of syndicator and part-owner Kylie Bax' property in Cambridge for a bit of down-time for the mare when they had travelled Danzdanzdance for assignments in Hawke's Bay and at Trentham.

"Whenever we have gone down and travelled, like for the Captain Cook [Group One, 1600m] and for the Livamol [Group One, 2040m], we have always stopped off at Kylie Bax' property. She has got a track there and the mare has been able to do a little bit of trotting and cantering around there for a week and then she comes back to us."

Gibbs said he did not expect Danzdanzdance to be ridden in a similar manner to her last start victory in the Zabeel Classic, where she raced at the tail of the field before looping her rivals to win by three and a half lengths under a hold.

"I don't think she will get back anywhere near as far as she did last time. That was totally unexpected," Gibbs said.

"You can get away with that on a slower track, but I don't think we would want to get back there on a better track anyway. You can't set yourself that sort of task.

"From barrier five, I'd like to think Michael [Rodd] might be midfield, maybe three-back and one-out.

"It is going to be different this time. The track is going to be totally different, so that is obviously a concern to us.

"We'll find out more on Saturday. I don't see why she wouldn't handle the Good3, but I would have preferred a little bit of rain to be fair."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Gibbs also thought the $1.85 odds were prohibitive.

"I understand why she is at those sort of odds, but I wouldn't be backing her at those odds," he said.

"There is a bit of doubt over the track and it is a bit of a different beast really. There are a couple of new horses coming into it, including a 3-year-old [Madison County]. We won the race with a 3-year-old in Valley Girl a few years ago, so it can be done against good horses.

"You have to show respect for everyone that is in there, but we're happy with our mare."

Gibbs said the mare was proving popular among the Ruakaka locals and a good performance on Saturday would see Danzdanzdance embark on a two-start Sydney Campaign.

"It's great for the area. We get a lot of comments from people I don't know just walking down the road, they just love watching her go around and they think she is representing us up here. That is quite cool from a Northland point of view," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Safely through Saturday she will go straight to the paddock for a few days again at Kylie's. It's only just down the road and she will do the same routine, but we will be flying to Sydney on March 18 and running in the Ranvet [Group One, 2000m] on the 23rd."

The A$4 million Group One Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on April 13 is the other race on the programme for Danzdanzdance.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

Māori All Blacks beaten by Scotland

05 Jul 05:39 AM
Northern Advocate

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

27 Jun 07:00 PM
Sport

NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

25 Jun 10:36 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Māori All Blacks beaten by Scotland

Māori All Blacks beaten by Scotland

05 Jul 05:39 AM

Visitors bounce back after a flying start from the hosts in Whangārei.

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

'Incredible': Northland retirees become world champs in new sport

27 Jun 07:00 PM
NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

NZ shearers prepare for Scotland's toughest sheep

25 Jun 10:36 PM
How Paralympic aspirations helped Eligh Fountain overcome mental battles - On The Up

How Paralympic aspirations helped Eligh Fountain overcome mental battles - On The Up

25 Jun 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP