KEY POINTS:
Do not be scared off backing Waikeepadacash at Awapuni tomorrow because Sam Spratt has jumped ship.
Pukekohe trainer Richard Yuill says it was a tough call between his Winter Cup favourite and stablemate Gallions Reach in the $100,000 Merial Ancare Metric Mile.
But Yuill's stable rider is thinking
of long-term staying riches beyond the group three feature.
By the time Gallions Reach is hitting peak form in the summer cups, Waikeepadacash's only action will be swatting flies in a paddock.
"Sam probably would have gone for Waikeepadacash but with the cups coming up there are bigger races ahead for Gallions Reach," said Yuill yesterday.
Chris Johnson, who won last year's Merial on Bonjour, takes over the reins.
And if track conditions suit, Yuill is confident the pair will be tough to beat, at what should be healthy double-digit odds.
"I'm not really sure what that means in the new system, but in the old caper he prefers somewhere between dead and slow," said Yuill.
"He got stuck in the mud at Christchurch [in the Winter Cup] and last time out [at Te Rapa] it was the complete opposite - he was run off his feet.
"But he looks a picture at the moment and is working the tracks down."
Rain late this week at Awapuni - it was reading a Heavy10 yesterday - hasn't helped the 6-year-old's chances.
But drying weather was forecast for today and raceday which may just bring the track back into Waikeepadacash's range.
And with the 1600m headliners focusing on the Stoney Bridge Stakes at Hastings tomorrow week, the horse part-owner Peter Walker calls a "nuggety little halfback" won't get a better shot at a group prize.
"He's just a little bit too good for that heavy ground," said Yuill.
"Even when he won the Te Awamutu Cup, he only really coped because he found the better footing out wide."
Trudy Thornton got off Gallions Reach after his fresh-up eighth at Tauranga on August 30 and said he'd be tough to bowl next time over 1600m.
But Yuill says that was conditional on this year's Auckland Cup runner-up striking a reasonable surface.
"On a rain-affected track he's going to have to work that much harder," he said.
"I think it's going to be a bit testing for him, being on the fresh side, and he might just take another race."
Gallions Reach followed a similar programme last year, resuming over 1200m at Tauranga before running "a blinder" in the Merial and fading late for 11th of 16.
The difference this year, however, is that Yuill knows the 6-year-old has come back bigger and a lot stronger.
Safely through tomorrow - and a follow-up yet to be chosen - Yuill is confident Gallions Reach won't be out of his depth alongside underrated stablemate Prince Kaapstad in the $2 million Kelt Capital Stakes on October 4.
In-form Woodville miler Samurai is the obvious Merial threat.
Winter Cup winner Shamrock Star is up 3.5kg from his Riccarton victory to 58kg topweight, and Jacowils, who is yet to try 1600m, lumps 57kg courtesy of his Foxbridge Plate success.
By comparison, Samurai seems well off with the same weight as the latter.
He's proven at this level over the distance, and looked as if he'd sweep by the exciting Katy Keen last time out at Hastings. But he cost himself half a length at least by laying in inside the final 100m.
Te Awamutu visitors Old Belvedere and Elblitzem are dangers among the lighter weights. Old Belvedere chased the much-improved Rios home at Hastings and would prefer even more rain before the weekend.
Elblitzem may need the Awapuni surface to improve back into the Waikeepadacash zone.
But don't be deterred by the switch back from 2000m, the distance the talented five-year-old scored so impressively over last time out at Hastings.
"I don't see it as a problem," confirmed Te Awamutu trainer Robert Priscott.
"He freshens nicely and he's a fit little horse who is enjoying life - he's bouncing around."
WEIGHT SUITS
* Pukekohe visitor Waikeepadacash appeals at good odds in an open Merial Metric Mile.
* He has a handy weight advantage over in-form local hopes Shamrock Star and Samurai.
* Trainer Richard Yuill says he won't need heavy ground to show his best.
* Regular rider Sam Spratt has switched to stablemate Gallions Reach.