Racing: So Pristine on song for Cup

Jason Collett celebrates So Pristine's victory at Ellerslie on New Year's Day. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Awapuni Pick6 anchor So Pristine could earn her late nomination fee into the Wellington Cup with a win in the listed $50,000 Marton Cup (2200m) today.

Pukekohe trainer Richard Collett has yet to enter his fast-improving Zabeel mare, but said the $200,000 group two is definitely on the radar if she performs up to expectations.

So Pristine's camp has until January 25 to make the late nomination payment of $3700 for the 2400m feature at Trentham on January 29.

"She's entered in the Auckland Cup but I'm not really fussed about running her over 3200m at this stage," said Collett.

"The 2400m is not a worry. At the end of the day we're out to enhance her value as a broodmare.

"If she can win a listed race, then we'll start looking at a group race."

Collett confirmed yesterday that everything is on song for the first part of that plan today.

The five-year-old has thrilled Collett with the way she's come through her last-start win in the Dunstan Feeds Championship Final at Ellerslie on New Year's Day with son Jason aboard.

All she needs now, believes Collett, is an ounce of luck to win him his second Marton Cup in four years. Kingsinga was a short-priced winner of the 2007 with Leith Innes aboard.

In her first and only other attempt in open company in the Manawatu Cup on December 18, So Pristine cost herself victory by being slow away on a wetter surface than she preferred.

She charged home late for third for rider Jason Collett, who has the mount again today.

Back on a firmer surface, So Pristine showed her class with an authoritative follow-up at Ellerslie and looks ideally placed at the weights again to land her first black type.

So Pristine conceded Dunstan Feeds Final runner-up He's Under The Gun 1kg at Ellerslie, and still meets that horse on the same terms today.

Cup specialist and topweight Bruce Almighty should set up a genuine tempo for So Pristine's electrifying finish.

She looks a standout in leg four of the $150,000 Pick6, which is also leg two of a $40,000 bonus-injected Quaddie.

Look to boost the funds on the Collett-trained stablemate The Beekeeper in race four, the R80 1400m, in which son Jason also rides.

The black type winner has to lump 58kg, but Collett opted for this assignment over the $30,000 R90 1600m (race seven) in order to take advantage of the better starting gate.

"She should be hard to beat," said Collett. "And if she won well, we'd look to back her up in a fillies and mares race at Tauherenikau three weeks later."

Long-range Auckland Cup hopeful Mr Legs will be all the rage in the opening leg of the Pick6, and a must include.

But he's still learning the game and has to also contend with a tricky barrier.

Take some cover with easy last-start winner Supremacy, and the Gary Vile-trained pair Ransomed and We Are Royal.

The later duo trekked north last time out for the group two Championship Stakes at Ellerslie and weren't disgraced.

Leg two, the Waikato Stud Open Handicap, is a nightmare. Almost the entire field has to be rated some kind of hope.

If you have to tighten it up, opt for the old faithfuls Fritzy Boy, O'Cartier, Tauranga visitor Casabella Lane and for a lightweight, the Pukekohe-trained Dasoudi.

In this type of field you also can't risk leaving out a resurgent Joku, who impressed with his first-up win on New Year's Day. Mathew Ward's 3kg claim is a huge assist.

Cambridge visitor Heredity has looked enormous winning his last two in R80 company. There's no reason why he can't make it a hat-trick in leg three.

Back-ups include the in-form Worthing and the Lance Noble-trained Loviste who drops to a dangerous place at the weights.

The northerners should strike again in leg five courtesy of the Shelley Hale-trained Sum Up, the mount of Lisa Allpress.

He looks to have come back a lot stronger this campaign, as evidenced by his last-start second over this trip to the highly rated New Zealand Derby hopeful Historian at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

Outside of him, the chances appear wide.

It could be a big day for Jason Collett who teams with another emerging staying type in Pentridge in the final leg, the R90 2300m.

He was an impressive course and distance winner in R70 company last November and followed that with an equally commanding victory at Otaki over the same trip a fortnight later in this grade.

The wide alley appeared to cost him any hope of a hat-trick last time out in the Dunstan Feeds Championship Final.

He's got a tricky gate again but more time to find the fence before the first bend and this field is a notch or two below the one he struck at Ellerslie.