Racing: Kenny Rae Deploying calm before storm

Deploy has been too fast for many of tomorrow's rivals in two recent similar races at Ruakaka. Photo / Supplied

Training star Kenny Rae believes home track advantage may never be more crucial than when Ruakaka hosts one of the richest days in its history tomorrow.

Rae and partner Krystal Williams-Tuhoro have a strong hand in four of the five $60,000 Winter Championship finals in the north tomorrow.

The finals help boost the total stakes for the eight-race meeting to $390,000, the sort of money rarely available in Ruakaka, a track whose future was under threat just a year ago and one hit hard by Covid travel restrictions.

With Ruakaka a soft6 yesterday and providing some respite from the heavy tracks at many other venues, New Zealand's northernmost track is the place to be and Rae says that suits his horses.

"It is a big help when we don't have to travel and they do," says Rae of his Auckland and Waikato rivals.

"Some horses it doesn't bother but I think for the younger horses travelling three to four hours on race day makes it hard. So for us it really helps, especially with a filly like Deploy (R3, No 1)."

Deploy has been too fast for many of tomorrow's rivals in two recent similar races at Ruakaka, and while she has to carry the 57kg topweight in a smart field, Rae says she is getting better with every run.

"When we first got her she was mad," says Rae. "She would get that fizzed up and carried away but I just took her to the beach every day to work and that calmed her down.

"If she bolted and wouldn't behave at the beach she had to walk all the way back home after and she soon got sick of that. She is a lot calmer now and I think she is every bit as good, if not better, than [former stable star] Prom Queen.

"So I am not worried about the weight for her. These good two-year-olds often carry topweight to win because they have earned it."

The race will still not be an easy kill for Deploy as it boasts the depth befitting the stake, with Wessex and Pacific Dragon having shown enough class to win, albeit they are also drawn outside the favourite.

Rae is not as confident with last season's high-class juvenile Follow Your Dreams (R5, No 2), who hasn't come up as well this campaign.

"I think he is getting there but I almost dropped him back in grade to R65 because he still has a bit to find. I think he will go better this week but he has been a bit disappointing."

The stable has two reps in the open 1400m which has drawn an outstanding form field, with Rae saying trackwork this week suggests Zelenski may have the better of stablemate Irish Girl.

"Zelenski worked great this week and I think the young fella riding him [Ace Lawson-Carroll] gets him to settle so I think he is right where he needs to be.

"The mare [Irish Girl] I am not so sure about. We know how good she is but I am not sure how she has come up this campaign. So Zelenski is our better chance but that is a good field."

The depth of recent form makes the 1400m one of the more interesting flat races of the winter so far.

It is also a perfect example of what the $60,000 finals were supposed to produce.

Rae suggests punters have an each-way nibble on Van Diesel (R4, No 5) in the early races.

"He beat Irish Girl in a trial here then was unlucky fresh-up last time so he is our each-way bet for the day."