Racing: Guiseppina faces sternest in Te Aroha feature event

Shooting High High-class Guiseppina once again easily beat her opposition on Saturday.

She is now likely to contest this weekend's $200,000 Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha.

Remarkably, she has made just six raceday appearances.We are going to find out how good Guiseppina is this week.

The remarkable mare is almost certainly to contest the group one $200,000 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha on Saturday.

To guarantee a start in that she had to make one quantum leap from R70 and R80 to open company to win Saturday's Fairdale/Goodwood Studs Flying Handicap at Awapuni, something that would have seen most horses beaten.

And that's most horses with a full racing background.

Remarkably, Guiseppina was having just her sixth race start and the ease with which she disposed of horses like 16-win O'Cartier was stunning.

"I jumped off her and said:'Wow'," was James McDonald's comment yesterday.

McDonald, like trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, has long had a huge opinion of the 4-year-old mare, but all three had niggling doubt's Saturday's assignment might have been a bridge slightly too far even for her.

"I thought she might win, but I never imagined she could do it that easily," said Julia Ritchie.

The pat between the ears as the mare crossed the finish line told you what McDonald thought.

The closer to the inside you were on Saturday the easier the job. Guiseppina had to come around the leaders in the centre of the track, which hampered the progress of many on the day, but she simply cruised past them.

The week back-up to a group one race might be questioned in some quarters, but it's hardly a factor for Guiseppina ,who is not having even reasonably tough races.

She has yet to be put under pressure and as a result cruises through her races.

"She's doing very well and she travels well," said Ritchie.

"When I got her back to her stable after the race she tore into her food.

"We'll be talking to Peter [owner Peter Vela who is overseas] tonight and it will be his decision whether to race this coming week.

"Obviously, the mare will tell us in the next couple of days if there is any reason she shouldn't be backing up."

If last weekend's leap in class was big, this one is going to be massive.

Guiseppina (53kg) received 6kg off O'Cartier on Saturday. This week, she goes head-to-head with top-class mares Keep The Peace, Obsession and Banchee at virtually level weights.

Earlier on Saturday, Ramsay and Ritchie produced the Vela colours on Ebullient to score impressively.

The Stravinsky son of Caulfield and Melbourne Cup winner Ethereal is a 4-year-old with only four race starts behind him.

"He's four, but he's more like a 2-year-old because this is his first preparation.

"He'll probably go out for a spell now and come back a better horse.

"He's got so much ability, but he's only just learning how to use it."