Racing: Fighting qualities to fore as orphan foal collects

Viz Vitae likes fighting - he had to fight for survival when his mother died - and those qualities were evident yesterday.

The four-year-old was given a dream sit close to the pace throughout the 2200 metre event at Ellerslie.

Apprentice jockey Troy Harris worked Viz Vitae between runners in the home stretch, bursting away from the opposition to win by three lengths over Better Boy and Stark Galaxy (third).

Part-owner Ray Knight has held a high opinion of Viz Vitae right from the day he nursed the orphan.

"His mother [Mi Tristena] died when he was two weeks old and he wouldn't co-operate with anything we tried to do," said Knight.

"He wouldn't drink from another mare or be bottle fed or fed from a bucket so in the end I put him in with a calf.

"With the calf wanting to eat and drink it encouraged him to do the same. He's a very classy young racehorse but he's needed to strike a track that has been rock hard.

"The easy track at Ellerslie on Boxing Day tripped him up and as you saw today when he gets the right kind of track he can really run."

The Shinko King-sired gelding has scored four wins and two minor placings from 16 starts for Cambridge-based trainer Murray Baker.

But Baker has bloodstock agent Bruce Perry to thank for securing smart three-year-old filly Tusker.

He was "tipped off" by Perry to go and inspect the yearling filly and he bought her out of a paddock.

Tusker made it back-to-back wins yesterday when sprinting powerfully down the outer of the track in the home stretch to post an effortless victory.

The Volksraad-sired filly scored by 1 1/4 lengths over Ambrosine with a further long head back to Lynisky (third).

"I've got Bruce Perry to thank for getting this filly and I have a very big opinion of her as she's a very classy filly," said Baker.

"It has taken her a few starts this preparation to get into a good racing rhythm and she won very well today.

"I'm going to take her to Trentham possibly for a race like the Wellington Stakes but she's a filly that will have her shot at black type racing this season."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY