Racing: Maroofity vulnerable

Matamata trainer Mark Walker has a warning to punters hell-bent on making Maroofity a past-the-post certainty at Taupo tomorrow.

If his former juvenile star is to be beaten on the road to the Thorndon Mile this month, the restricted 1350m event will be the race.

Walker was forced to scratch Maroofity from the group two Rich Hill Mile on the final day of the Auckland summer carnival when a foot abscess flared just four days before the $100,000 feature.

"He's definitely going to improve with this run," said Walker.

"He's missed some work and was trained up for 1600m before the setback so 1350m with 58kg is not ideal for him. But in saying that, he does have class on his side."

Walker rates stablemate Irish Belle and the Kay Lane-trained Figurinit as the big dangers to Maroofity, who was a $2.55 beaten favourite in a restricted open sprint at Taupo in September.

Both Irish Belle and Figurinit are coming off close-up runs in Danbird's Newmarket Handicap on Boxing Day.

Figurinit held a slight edge that day and the early $7 second favourite for the Thorndon has a 3.5kg edge in the weights over Maroofity, who is rated a $10 hope at Trentham.

Promising stayer Vanessatheundressa is another looking to use today's Taupo meeting as a springboard to Trentham riches.

The $14,000 Taupo Cup may seem like a long way from the Wellington Cup. But the mare's co-trainer, Stephen Autridge, knows he has history on his side: Miss Bailey won the same race on the way to a Cup boilover five years ago.

"I know that when she's right, she's as good as anything around," said Autridge.

"She wasn't beaten by too much in the St Leger last year and I think this will be her year."

If she's going to be any chance against the open-class stayers over 3200m on January 29, Autridge knows she'll have to win and probably do it with a bit to spare tomorrow.

But her impressive last-start victory at Rotorua, in which she easily burned off heavily backed Taupo rival Octapussy, suggests she can.

Vanessatheundressa, an early $60 fixed-odds chance in the Cup, should be in her element around the Taupo circuit.

She's a natural-born front runner and seems to prefer the left-handed way round, a factor that stopped Autridge winding her up early to chase an Auckland Cup start.

"If anything wants to take her on at Taupo, they're going to have to be pretty quick to head her off."

Safely through tomorrow's first Wellington Cup test, Autridge said he would try to seal a start for Vanessatheundressa in the Trentham feature in one of the early qualifiers during the Cup carnival.

Autridge also rates his debutante Indian Summer as a big winning chance in today's juvenile race.

The Cullen colt was an impressive recent trials winner and is the mount of an in-form Leith Innes.