Latta was proud of her charge, who hadn’t been sighted since finishing a game second in this year’s AGC Training Stakes in May, where he was ridden by Riddell’s father Jonathan.
“I thought he might have needed the run today, he hasn’t run in a while, but he just thrives on the wet tracks,” she said.
“We’d left him in work because it’s just too wet to put him out in the paddock, so we ticked him over quietly and he’s had a good blow today.
“We’ll put a nom in for the Ōpunakē Cup, then just see how many points they give him and the weight he’ll get there before deciding whether we go or not.”
While an Ōpunakē Cup defence is still on the table, Latta has ruled out returning to Riccarton for a third attempt at the Winter Cup, instead putting her focus to some elite-level targets in the early spring.
“He’s definitely not going south,” she said.
“We’ll be looking at the weight-for-age races, hopefully we’ll get a wet spring and it should be a help that they’re not in Hastings. We might strike a wet track somewhere.”
A 6-year-old by Belardo, Belardo Boy was purchased by Latta for $28,000 when presented by co-breeder Haunui Farm at the National Yearling Sales in 2020 and five years later, he has earned more than $436,000.
Latta was equally pleased to see Make Time return to form, having battled in the holding conditions at Wanganui last start.
“It was a much-improved effort from him, he’s just struggled in the really puggy tracks on some occasions,” she said. “He jumped and put himself right there and tried hard to the line.
“We might look at the Ōpunakē Cup with him or possibly heading to Riccarton for an open race.”
– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
