KEY POINTS:
Ross McCarroll did not enjoy the last experience he had when starting stable star Figure Of Speech at Tauranga racecourse, but the Cambridge trainer was a lot happier yesterday.
Figure Of Speech effortlessly overpowered a quality field to win the $70,000 Kiwifruit Cup, scoring by 3 3/4 lengths
over Jovial Jock and the third-placed Dead Rabbits.
Yesterday's winning performance was a drastic improvement on his first-up outing on April 28 when unplaced over 1600m.
After that effort, Figure Of Speech was found to be suffering from an irregular heartbeat, but expert veterinary care coupled with McCarroll's training skills saw the 5-year-old quickly bounce back to winning form.
Figure Of Speech returned to racing at Te Rapa two weeks ago, recording an impressive victory, and carried that strong form into yesterday's open handicap.
The $65,000 Taumarunui Cup, a late-season winter feature at Te Rapa on July 28, is the next target for the in-form gelding.
* Stephen McKee can do little wrong in his debut season training.
McKee had trained for a number of years in partnership with his father, Trevor, and has had a staggering start to his solo career, posting 74 wins this season.
His latest came with the consistent 4-year-old mare Ististar, produced in faultless physical condition to win the $60,000 (weight-for-age) Tauranga Classic.
McKee's judgment is spot-on at the moment as the Ardmore-based trainer decided to keep Ististar in training for this winter feature and the result underlined her stamina and class.
Ististar scored by 5 1/2 lengths over Abit Rusty with a further short neck back to Sardonyx.
This victory was Isistar's sixth from 20 starts for McKee.
"She won the Inter Provincial race at New Plymouth [last-start] and we then decided to keep her in training for this race as it was a weight-for-age fillies and mares' race," McKee said.
* Troy Harris should refuse to accept a winning ride fee after teaming up with powerhouse 3-year-old Hamlet's Ghost at Otaki yesterday.
Harris would have had more difficulty carrying the saddle that had 59kg in it than steering the 3-year-old who posted an eight-length victory in the $11,000 event.
The $1.40 win odds were appealing despite the hefty weight, and the Mark Walker-trained star has an imposing career record of five wins from six career starts.
There is an old saying in racing that weight can stop a train - but not this grey train - which lengthened stride effortlessly for Harris in the home stretch.