Racing: Cup campaign opens on high note

Dual Group One winner Gingernuts will make at least one more appearance before he crosses the Ditch. Photo / Trish Dunell

Caulfield Cup contender Gingernuts has breezed through his encouraging first-up performance at Hawke's Bay, according to co-trainer Jamie Richards.

The Iffraaj four-year-old exceeded expectations on Saturday when he came from the tail of the field to finish fifth in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy.

In doing so, Gingernuts had to overcome a check 350 metres from home in an incident that resulted in Cameron Lammas, the rider of the third-placed Underthemoonlight, copping a 10-day suspension.

"The slow track helped him and brought him into the race," said Richards, who trains in partnership with Stephen Autridge. "He had trialled well at Taupo and his work since then had been good.

"He pulled up well after Hastings and I rode him myself this morning - he's a very happy horse."

The dual Group One winner will now make at least one more domestic appearance before he crosses the Tasman.

"He'll run in the Windsor Park Plate at Hawke's Bay next and then we'll have a round table discussion to confirm our next move," Richards said. Richards was also delighted with the effort of Gingernuts' brother Griffin to finish fifth in the Listed El Roca Sir Colin Meads Trophy.

"He hit the line well after he got a little bit lost when he came across heels at the top of the straight," he said. "He could perhaps have finished closer and he's come through the race well.

"We'll take him along quietly, the family doesn't need a lot of racing, and he can go five weeks (without a run) into the Hawke's Bay Guineas."

• Meanwhile, Shaune Ritchie is preparing to take his chances in Melbourne with his talented five-year-old Let Her Rip.

The Cambridge trainer is looking further afield after the daughter of Rip Van Winkle was balloted out and denied a crack at the Tarzino Trophy.

"We're smart enough to have known that they don't scratch from Group Ones," Ritchie said. "We were always a million to one."

He has now put Plan B in place and Let Her Rip will cross the Tasman and attempt to add to the stable's record in the Let's Elope Stakes on September 16. Ritchie won the Group Two event at Flemington in 2012 with Zurella.

"Let Her Rip will have a quiet trial at Cambridge on Thursday and as long as she comes through that well she's booked on a flight to Melbourne the following Wednesday," Ritchie said.

"The good thing about that is we can have a look at the nominations on Monday and see where we are and what the track conditions might be."

Let Her Rip has an excellent fresh record, which Ritchie is mindful of.

"We don't want to waste that first run - it's usually her best one," he said. "The Let's Elope is set weights and penalties and we believe it's a race within her range."

Let Her Rip has won five of her 17 starts and she hasn't raced since she won the Gr.3 Rotorua Stakes in May.

The form out of the race has held up well, with runner-up New York Minute placing in Group Three and Listed company at her next two runs while Underthemoonlight was third.

She subsequently won the Listed Tauranga Classic, the Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate and ran third in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy.

- NZ Racing Desk