Racing: Change of plan for The Chosen One

The Chosen One, racing in the $400,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes tomorrow, was brilliant at Trentham and will continue without blinkers. Photo / Race Images

The masters behind The Chosen One have had a change of plan with the newly-minted Group 1 winner heading into tomorrow's $400,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa in Hamilton.

For all his Australian heroics at the highest level in the last two years, The Chosen One only gained the Group1 win that will boost his stallion career in the Thorndon Mile at Trentham two weeks ago.

He was explosive that day even at a distance short of his best and he looks better suited to the step up to 2000m tomorrow in a field without the top-end depth of the Thorndon, even though it contains the last two winners of this race in Tiptronic and Royal Performer.

But co-trainer Andrew Forsman says while he couldn't be happier with The Chosen One since his Trentham demolition job, the ease of the victory left them with an unexpected problem.

"He has usually been a horse who has raced well fresh but nowhere near as well second-up," explains Forsman. "That was one reason we left the blinkers off at Trentham so we could put them back on for this race to give him a boost.

"But after he won so easily at Trentham it is hard to change anything so we talked about it this week and he will race without the blinkers.

"There is that small nagging doubt after him second-up but really, there isn't anything we can do about that and he seems absolutely spot-on."

While The Chosen One doesn't have the best second-up form, that has also largely been compiled at the elite Australian carnivals where his second-up races have been against stars like Zaaki and Probabeel, so as good as tomorrow's race is he won't have to perform to that level to win.

He comes into the slightly tricky barrier seven but Matt Cameron rode him a treat at Trentham and he has the tactical speed to make his own luck if he needs to.

The six-year-old is also further aided by the fact he looks certain to settle in front of Thorndon runner-up Coventina Bay, who starts from 11.

Those looking to bet against The Chosen One may also struggle to make a strong case for many of his rivals as winning chances, with perhaps Tiptronic the one who ticks the most boxes.

He won this race two years ago and showed he was still in that kind of shape when stealing the Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie two starts ago.

Tiptronic has the draw to roll forward, possibly lead and the services of champion big race jockey Opie Bosson for the first time.

Bosson became available as the Herbie Dyke is a weight-for-age rarity in New Zealand in recent seasons, a Group 1 without a Jamie Richards-trained starter. Coventina Bay can still win stepping up to the 2000m but will almost certainly have to do it the hard way, coming from back in the field with the other favourites settling a fair way in front of her.

That sort of pattern could leave Zabeel runner-up Vernanme as a top-four player as he has the ace, in-form jockey Sam Weatherley and fewer recent form concerns than most for the Te Rapa trip.

THE BEST FROM THE BEST

Racing's top horsepeople rate their best chance of a winner this weekend:

Opie Bosson: Spirit Of Baz (Te Rapa, R1)

Michael McNab: Miss Cartier (Te Rapa, R5)

Robert Wellwood/Roger James: Charmario (Te Rapa, R3)

Tony Pike: Samiam Seuisse (Te Rapa, R8)

Michael Pitman: Copy That (Riccarton, R5)

Graham Richardson: Tiptronic (Te Rapa, R7)

Graeme Rogerson: Mascarpone (Te Rapa, R9)

Lisa Latta: Hong Kong (Te Rapa, R10)

Sam Weatherley: Kirra Lad (Te Rapa, R5)

Craig Grylls: Superette (Te Rapa, R10)

Jamie Richards: Maven Belle (Te Rapa, R3)

Matt Cameron: The Chosen One (Te Rapa, R7)

Andrew Scott/Lance O'Sullivan: Highlighter (Te Rapa, R5)

Andrew Carston: Poser (Riccarton, R1)

Kozzi Asano: Our Hail Mary (Awapuni, Friday, R8)

Leith Innes: Four Queens (Te Rapa, R8)