Racing: Spring Heat brilliant on return

Spring Heat makes a winning return at Matamata. Photo / Trish Dunell

The wait has been worth it for promising galloper Spring Heat, who made a belated return to the track with a brilliant fresh-up victory at Matamata yesterday.

The locally trained mare had looked a class act during a three-year-old campaign that saw her win two of her five starts, including the group three Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m) at Ellerslie.

Unsighted since finishing fifth in the group one Levin Classic (1600m) back in January, the More Than Ready four-year-old had been unconvincing in two trials before making her return yesterday in devastating fashion.

Co-trainer Andrew Scott, who prepares the mare with Lance O'Sullivan from their Matamata base, had indicated Spring Heat had turned the corner in her work when assessing her chances before the race.

That judgment proved spot on as she produced a sustained burst of speed from near last on the home bend, to win by a length-and-a-quarter in a smart 1m 10s for the 1200m journey on a Dead5 surface.

"I think Lance and all the team at home will take great pleasure from that," Scott said.

"We've had to be incredibly patient with her, as it all went a little bit wrong after the Levin Classic.

"She had a long break and we gave her all the time in the world.

"She hadn't given us much at the trials where she was pretty plain, but all of her work in the last 10 days suggested she was somewhere near her best."

Scott admitted the stable had been frustrated with the delay in getting the mare to the races, where she held a nomination for the group one Sistema Railway (1200m) at Ellerslie, but was looking forward now she had put a confidence-boosting win on the board.

The O'Sullivan/Scott team enjoyed a successful day on their home turf, with Spring Heat forming the middle leg of a winning treble after Wild Seas took out the opening event, while Cha Siu Bao bounced back to form over 2000m later in the day.

- NZ Racing Desk