Racing: Te Akau set to add Taranaki Cup to silverware

Prise De Fer winning the Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie on New Year's Day. Photo / Trish Dunell

Prise De Fer is ready to edge closer to making his stable's A-team in the Taranaki Cup today.

In most stables he would already be there, the star of the show, the one who gets the extra pat or check of the legs at night.

But then again, Te Akau aren't most stables.

After all, they won both $1 million Karaka Million races at Ellerslie last Saturday, on a night they had a 10-time group one winner in Melody Belle and a Cox Plate placegetter in Te Akau Shark work between races.

All that a week after Avantage won the Telegraph from the outside barrier while the Waikato business re-loaded big time at the Karaka sales this week.

It is a machine at the peak of its powers. All of which makes Prise De Fer winning one of our great mile races, the $100,000 Rich Hill Mile at Ellerslie just a month ago, seem almost standard.

The reality is it was anything but.

It was one of the training performances of his season for 30-year-old Jamie Richards, having ignored the temptation to step Prise De Fer up in distance and keep his legs fresh enough to win the Rich Hill.

The group two victory might see him scrape into the best 10 horses at Te Akau, hard to tell, but Richards is adamant the 4-year-old hasn't finished winning yet.

But he has changed plans with Prise De Fer, as he will now miss the Herbie Dyke at Te Rapa next Saturday, which is how he ended up at New Plymouth today.

"His next big aim is the weight-for-age mile at Otaki on February 22 so he needs a race now," explains Richards.

"I decided against throwing him in to a hard weight-for-age race next week and I think this suits being set weights and penalties, even though he carries the top weight.

"It means going 1800m this week without a race in a month but he is the sort of horse who you don't want to race every week anyway.

"So we think he can win and his work has been very good."

That gives Prise De Fer the option to drop back the 200m to the Mile at Otaki and then he could even be a horse set for the Brisbane winter, where several key carnival stakes have been boosted.

Today he has a red hot Opie Bosson to help him overcome a tricky barrier 11 and meets a mixed opposition, from horses like Mongolian Marshal who has been racing in group ones all summer to a City Of Auckland Cup winner in Platinum Invador and even Overtheriver, who finished second in the Omoto Cup last start.

Richards also has former Karaka Mile winner Scott Base in the race, who was a brave third in the Thorndon last start at Trentham and can win on his best behaviour but also faces a bad draw.

Mongolian Marshal looks the biggest danger to the favourite though, having raced consistently without a lot of luck during a tough summer campaign and Vinnie Colgan should suit him. He has been $6.50 into $4.40 in a race where the favourite has also trimmed up.

Mongolian Marshal's trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman also have three in today's Oaks Prelude, including favourites Bergamot and Kabu but the race has a very open look to it. While Prise De Fer should fly the Tangerine flag highest at New Plymouth today, stable star Melody Belle has been gifted a change of plans as she prepares for another Melbourne campaign.

Richards was worried about trialing her at Taupo on Wednesday because the track there, a blessing in spring, can get very, very firm in summer.

But NZTR have granted a request for two trials to be held before the race meeting at Tauranga on Thursday, which should provide more cushion for good horses' hooves before Melody Belle heads to Melbourne on Sunday.

She resumes at Caulfield on February 22 before the All Star Mile on March 14. Te Akau Shark heads to Te Rapa next week before Sydney while Cool Aza Beel and Probabeel have both enjoyed a week with the sun on their backs after their $1m heroics last Saturday.

Cool Aza Beel will race at Matamata on Feb 22, which is going to be a huge three-major meeting day for the stable, before he goes to the group one Sistema Stakes at Ellerslie on March 7. Probabeel will go fresh-up into the Surround Stakes in Sydney on February 29, with stable jockey Bosson expected to ride Melody Belle in Melbourne and then Probabeel in Sydney.

With so many other mega-money assignments coming up for Team Te Akau through to the Championships in early April if all goes well Bosson will have regular Australian rides in the next two months.