Racing: Southern contender on song for provincial

Southland trained galloper Eight Songs can expect a rugby test match fever style ovation if she can win the $50,000 Interprovincial Invitation (1600m) at New Plymouth's Pukekura Raceway tomorrow.

The Classic Fame 5-year-old has had to travel further than any of 21 acceptors in the Taranaki Racing Club's (TRC) feature, spending three days on the road and crossing Cook Strait to reach New Plymouth on Monday.

And flying up as a support crew from Invercargill today will be 13 members of the Aparima syndicate which races Eight Songs on lease from Gay Stuart's stable.

After initially being concerned that Eight Songs might not settle after her long trip with stablemate Barney O', Stuart was a lot happier yesterday.

"The first morning here she [Eight Songs] was in a muck lather, now she's settled right down," Stuart said at trackwork. "I'm really pleased with both of them now. It took a day or two for them to settle down, but they're eating up well now and are settled."

Victory - or for that matter a dividend bearing placing - in the Interprovincial has so far eluded a South Island horse in the nine years the novel invitation race has been run.

One thing Eight Songs has in her favour is that she has been ultra consistent, even if against much lesser company than she strikes on Saturday.

Her 16 starts to date have yielded four wins, four seconds and four thirds and $25,865 and is in her second season of racing.

Eight Songs had to settle for second money when last raced, nosed out of first money by Barney O' in a open 1600m race on her hometrack on April 28.

That was the day that Stuart - a former nurse - brought up her 100th training success in 35 years as a licence holder, eight as a public trainer.

Stuart's husband, Doug Stuart, is chief executive of the Riverton Racing Club and a member of the Aparima syndicate.

Gay Stuart is becoming a regular visitor to the Interprovincial meeting, having brought The Dude and Barney O' up to contest support races last year.

Both horses failed to run in the money, finding the heavy track conditions against them.

Gay Stuart will not have the same worry with Eight Songs who has scored two of her four career wins on a heavy track.

She played down Eight Songs' chances in the Independent Cable Supplies sponsored Interprovincial saying she wasn't getting carried away and the horse was facing a tough assignment.

Asked what victory in the race would mean to her, Stuart kept her answer short.

"That would be nice!" she said.

There is a good reason for Stuart bringing Barney O' north as a travelling companion for Eight Songs to the meeting.

TRC manager Carey Hobbs shares in the ownership of Barney O', an acceptor in the Brand X Open (1800m) at the Taranaki meeting.

Coming north to ride Stuart's team is promising South Island apprentice Jarrod Todd.

Todd has had success on both horses, prompting Stuart to stick with the youngster.

- NZPA