Racing: Different paths to Queensland Derby for top New Zealand horses

Pinarello stormed home to win the Championship Stakes on Saturday. Photo / Trish Dunell

One Kiwi contender for next month's Queensland Derby bolted in over the weekend but punters should be cautious with another when Tutukaka lines up at Avondale tomorrow.

Trainer Tony Pike is taking his Karaka Classic Mile runner-up to the West Auckland track for what he believes will be an unsuitable 1400m, because it is the right thing to do in the lead-up to another Queensland campaign.

Tutukaka, a younger half-brother to Melody Belle, won in Queensland last season and is returning there for the A$1 million Derby on May 28, a classic in which he looks increasingly likely to meet fellow Cambridge galloper Pinarello.

The latter was dominant in the Championship Stakes at Pukekohe on Saturday and co-trainer Roger James says he will head to Queensland should he come through the run well.

His performance saw him shorten dramatically in Derby markets but Pike isn't expecting Tutukaka to be quite as striking in race 5 tomorrow, which he says is just a starting point.

"We all know he is the class horse of the race and maybe that will get him home but really 1400m is on the short side for him," says Pike.

"He needs this run to get him up and going for the Rough Habit Stakes on May 14, which is his natural lead-up to the Derby.

"I am happy with the horse but not so happy with Avondale track coming up a heavy 9. I think that is going to be less than ideal for plenty of horses but Tutukaka needs to run so he will be lining up."

One rival who won't start if the track remains heavy is Western Springs, a talented three-year-old that James and training partner Robert Wellwood thought they may lose when he suffered a leg fracture in the Hawke's Bay Guineas in the spring.

"He is a really good horse but if the track is heavy he won't start and we will probably only line up two of ours," said James.

"The two-year-old filly Karakaze (R3, No 2) will start even on a heavy track because sometimes the juveniles just run their race even if they aren't handling it and we think she is a smart filly."

The stable were thrilled with Pinarello's win not just because it was a $120,000 race but the way he won suggests he is now a top racehorse.

"The penny has dropped for him now," says James.

"He has improved in his last four starts but Saturday he was able to actually jump and put himself in a good spot and that adds another string to his bow."

Pinarello went into the Group 2 having not raced for seven weeks, after he was scratched from the Manawatū Classic on April 2 because of a loose tooth discovered at the barriers.

James loves he could pull off that European-type training performance with a horse who hadn't raced in so long but says he is unlikely to try that again should they head to the Queensland Derby.

"I like the thought of it but I actually think it made him quite keen early on Saturday and we don't really want that in a Derby.

"So if we go to Queensland, which is the intention, he will likely start in the Rough Habit on the way to it," said James.