Racing: Hard floor for a fast dance

Danzdanzdance winning the Group One Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. Photo / Supplied

Afirm track for Te Rapa's biggest meeting of the season could prove both an advantage and disadvantage at the same time for Danzdanzdance.

But co-trainer Chris Gibbs is hoping it works out more on the plus side heading into Saturday's $400,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes.

Danzdanzdance goes into New Zealand's richest weight-for-age race a $1.85 favourite after two breathtaking summer wins, the latest under almost exactly the same race specifications in the Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

But while both races are group one 2000m weight-for-age events there will be three significant changes for Danzdanzdance on Saturday.

The first is Michael Rodd replacing suspended Opie Bosson in the saddle, which for all Bosson's brilliance isn't playing on Gibbs's mind at all. After all, Rodd is a Melbourne Cup winner with an abundance of class and experience."I haven't spoken to Michael yet but he is apparently very, very thorough in his preparations for big races so we have no concerns there obviously," says Gibbs.

But the two other big differences from Ellerslie to Te Rapa could both impact the glamour grey, hopefully with a positive slant.

While there is the possibility of showers in coming days the Te Rapa track was rated a good3 yesterday and anything other than steady rain tends to all but bounce off the tracks when it is as hot as it has been in the north the past two weeks.

So Te Rapa could be very firm by the time the Herbie Dyke is run at 3.55pm and Gibbs, who trains Danzdanzdance with Michelle Bradley, admits that is not their perfect racing surface.

"I think she is at her best on a 5-6 range track, definitely more so than a good3 like we might get on Saturday."

But Gibbs says that could be balanced out by the fact 2000m on a firm track should provide less of a fitness test than the heavy10 of the Zabeel at Ellerslie.

"Back then we weren't worried about her fitness because she had had the Captain Cook run at Trentham three weeks earlier.

"But obviously she probably has a few more fitness questions over her this weekend because it has been over six weeks since she raced.

"We couldn't be happier with her and because she is a very clean-winded mare she is ready to go and the firm track should mean the race isn't a 2000m slog, which probably suits her more fresh.

"So there is a lot to weigh up and for all those reasons and the class of the field, we are definitely not taking anything for granted on Saturday."

Safely through Saturday's feature Danzdanzdance will head to Sydney for the Ranvet Stakes (March 23) and a likely clash with Winx in the Queen Elizabeth on April 13.

High-class three-year-old Madison County in the Herbie Dyke will be ridden by Matt Cameron, meaning Johnathan Parkes will take the reins of a regular Cameron ride in Lizzie L'Amour.

Victory on Saturday would greatly embellish Danzdanzdance's standing in the running for New Zealand Horse of the Year whereas the same could be said for Melody Belle in the $200,000 BCD Group Sprint.

Both mares have already won two group ones this season and while they both have Australian campaigns in the offing, victory for either on Saturday could break their tie and prove valuable in the end of season voting, as it would also for Madison County, the only other two-time group one winner this season so far.

Melody Belle's connections have already had two pre-race wins with her this week, being able to retain rider Troy Harris after he was granted a stay of proceedings in an appeal hearing while yesterday she drew barrier two in the 1400m sprint.

All of her eight career wins have come from draws inside barrier eight and her record from bad draws is just as poor so after shocking draws led to defeats in both the Railway and the Telegraph, barrier two was enough to see her open a $2.90 favourite even after her expensive last-start failure.