Rosso was too good in the Trentham Stakes two weeks ago. Photo / Peter Rubery
Michael Pitman isn’t going to change the recipe that has won him so many major races at Trentham.
Which means if you are anywhere near the Interisland Ferry Terminal in Picton around 2pm on Thursday, you will see the Wellington Cup favourite Rosso being trucked on to the big boat.
Pitman and his son Matthew Pitman may train at Riccarton in Christchurch but they have had great success in the capital over the last decade, winning the Group 1 Telegraph twice with Enzo’s Lad while Savvy Coup bolted away with the New Zealand Oaks in 2018.
Trentham is by far the happiest North Island hunting ground for South Island trainers, the track similar in size and shape to Riccarton and obviously the closest of the northern tracks to the South Island.
But that still involves trucking from Christchurch to Picton and then the ferry ride across Cook Strait, before another hour to Trentham – no small undertaking for a human, let alone a horse.
“We have actually never had a problem with crossing the strait,” Pitman said.
“We try to stick to the routine that has worked for us, which means they are always on the 2pm ferry on Thursday afternoon.
“We work them Thursday morning so they are nice and relaxed, drive our own float to Picton, catch the 2pm ferry and then, all going well, they are in a box at Trentham an hour after we get to Wellington.
“Then they can do some light work there on Friday and are good to go, but it never seems to bother them.”
The Pitmans have two reps in Saturday’s $400,000 Wellington Cup, with Rosso being the staying surprise of the entire New Zealand racing season.
He was purchased for just A$47,500 ($55,000) off an Australian website and the gelding, who started his career in Ireland, has won four of his six starts for the father-and-son training pair.
The latest was in the Trentham Stakes two weeks ago, beating plenty of the horses he meets on Saturday – but even after that win he comes in better this Saturday that he did then.
Rosso carried 55kg under the set weights and penalties conditions of the Trentham Stakes, 3kg less than topweight One Bold Cat, whereas with the Cup being an open handicap, he carries just 53kg, versus One Bold Cat’s huge 59kg.
That weight swing and Rosso’s impressive form has seen him open the $3.90 favourite for the Cup, with ex-pat jockey Daniel Stackhouse returning home to ride him again, as he did in the Trentham Stakes and when he won over 2600m at the New Zealand Cup meeting.
“We couldn’t have dreamed when we bought him we’d have the favourite for the Wellington Cup,” Pitman said.
“And the way he handled 2600m winning in the wet on New Zealand Cup Day, we have no concerns with the 3200m.”
The Pitmans also have Star Ballot in the Cup, who Pitman says is crying out for a dry track, while they are looking forward to Moon Goddess making her Trentham debut in Race 1 on Saturday.
“She is another one we bought via a website in Australia and she bolted in at Ashburton in her first start for us and was a huge second after being caught three wide at Wingatui last start.
“So she is going to be hard to beat.”
Rosso meets last year’s Wellington Cup favourite Interpretation on Saturday, the Ciaron Maher-trained stayer having been good enough to finish sixth in the Melbourne Cup in 2023.
The Pitmans aren’t the only South Island trainers trying to extend the south’s proud record at the Wellington Cup carnival, with Mayor Of Norwood set to carry the 56.5kg second topweight for Brian and Shane Anderton, while another southern trainer, Kelvin Tyler, has Prince Alby in the iconic race.
What: Wellington’s biggest race day.
Where: Trentham.
When: Saturday, first race 12.40pm.
Highlights: $400,000 New Zealand Campus Of Innovation And Sport Wellington Cup, $350,000 Life Direct Remutaka Classic, $175,000 Jennian Homes Lowland Stakes.
Punt: Fixed odds out at tab.co.nz
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.