Breslin was delighted to see his charge bounce back to winning form after enduring a lean period since his last victory in September 2021.
“At home, he has been as well as he has ever been, his work has been good and I just felt he hadn’t been putting in on raceday,” he said.
“I purposely put Ryan on, as he is quite a strong rider, and I said, ‘go forward and make sure he is awake’.
“I got quite confident about the 800m, as he was still hard up against the bridle, so he was more like the old Colorado Star.
“We’ll probably try him over a bit further now but we’re very happy with him.”
Elliot felt the change in race tactics really suited his mount, who travelled well all the way.
“He just needed a change in tactics and Mike said get him out and get him excited to be there,” Elliot said.
“He pricked his ears going past the post the first time, relaxed well, and when they came up to him, he fought them off nicely.”
Earlier, speedy filly Ulanova gave her rivals a good old-fashioned beating as she led all the way to take out the Group 3 Taranaki 2YO Classic (1200m) in effortless fashion.
Fresh off a solid effort for fourth in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) at Pukekohe, where she also led and was only claimed in the final 100m, the Stephen Marsh-trained daughter of Santos never looked like being caught.
Cuddled up in front by rider Craig Grylls, Ulanova used her high cruising speed to dictate from barrier rise, and approaching the home turn, it was evident Grylls had a lapful of horse under him.
Given her head in the straight, she dashed clear in the final stages to win comfortably by more than six lengths from Lantern Way, who chased in vain, with the Te Akau pair of She Turns Heads and Rubicon Crossing the next home.
Grylls said the final result was never in doubt once he found the front on the filly.
“We jumped, found the lead and got it reasonably soft,” Grylls said.
“Talking to Stephen before the race, I said I would try and cuddle her up for as long as possible, and she has kicked away, where it was pretty easy in the end.
“She was strong right through the line and I think she is a pretty fair animal who we will see a lot more of,” he said.
Marsh Racing stable foreman Rhys Mildon was quietly confident of a good performance by the filly once the track had been upgraded to a soft5 from a heavy8 during the day.
“They have produced the track beautifully, and with the improvement in it, I’d say there is a very relieved trainer back in Cambridge,” he said.
“It was really good to see her run the 1200m right out and that gives us hope for the future.
“It will be up to Stephen to decide where she goes next after we see how she comes through this.”
- NZ Racing Desk
