Racing: Break refreshes Juice

The training expertise of John Wheeler clinched Group One winning glory for stable star Juice in the $200,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha yesterday.

The New Plymouth-based trainer has had a quiet season by his standards but gave punters a timely reminder of his skills producing the 4-year-old mare in faultless condition for the 1600m feature.

Juice had raced beyond 2000m in her past three starts but with a four-week break from racing was primed for a drop back in distance to deliver a blistering home stretch sprint to win.

Jockey Hayden Tinsley settled the daughter of Bertolini four places back on the outer and unleashed a blistering sprint down the middle of the track to over haul the pace setting favourite Culminate by three-quarters of a length.

The same margin back in third position was Obsession.

With six wins and seven minor placings from 26 starts, Juice, has been a busy campaigner for Wheeler.

Her form earlier this season was indifferent but there is no doubting her sprinting ability which was underlined by a powerful winning performance yesterday.

While all honours were with the winner who was one of the leading 3-year-old fillies in New Zealand last season - nothing could be taken away - from the performance of the second placed Culminate.

Culminate was punched forward from a wide draw at the start of the race to lead but was attacked furiously during the early part of the race by Ruud Van Slaats.

Clearly Ruud Van Slaats was the loser in this front running war dropping out in the home stretch to finish last - over 10 lengths - behind the winner.

TINSELTOWN HAS been a frustrating racehorse for punters to follow this season but the 6-year-old returned back to winning form in style in the $35,000 Te Aroha Cup.

The 6-year-old Pentire gelding was highly regarded for Matamata trainers Mike and Paul Moroney earlier in his career but has failed to show anything significant lately.

However Tinseltown produced a slick home stretch sprint for jockey Craig Grylls to score by 1 lengths over Nazabeel with a further half-head back to O'Reilly Express.

This was a huge drop back in class for Tinseltown who was unplaced in his last start in the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie.

WELL-BRED race mare Sunstrike likes a decent fight at the finish of her races as was evident during the closing stages of a 1200m event yesterday.

Sunstrike is bred to be an equine superstar - by Rock Of Gibraltar out of champion race mare Sunline - scoring by a head in the hands of Sam Spratt over Danijela and Solo Flight.