Racing: Victory ensured a safe arrival back home

Taranaki trainer Bryce Revell believes horses should be very fit.

His former boss John Wheeler must be proud of him.

It won for Revell and his owners Saturday's $85,000 Cal Isuzu Stakes at Te Rapa with Ekstreme.

If Ekstreme hadn't run a place Revell would have had to slink back into the house on his return to Taranaki late on Saturday night.

A very unimpressed wife would have been waiting for him. She hadn't wanted Ekstreme to back up a week after winning last week's $200,000 group one Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham.

"She thinks horses should be pets," said a delighted Revell after Ekstreme's off-the-hook victory.

"I believe they're racehorses.

"In the finish you have to pull rank and go into the spare room and nominate them without the wife hearing."

As a result, Revell nominated Ekstreme for Saturday's race at 11.55am, five minutes before the closing deadline on Tuesday.

The New Plymouth trainer let out a large sigh when Ekstreme got the better of Dancing Jess and Ruud Van Slaats in the closing stages.

"I'd have been in trouble if she'd been unplaced or she'd broken down," he said.

Revell knew he wanted to run Ekstreme in this race when he gave the mare Sunday and Monday off last week after the Captain Cook victory and on Tuesday morning she tried to kick her workmate.

"She has been doing really well and I knew if I didn't run her in this race it was going to be too long to the Zabeel Classic at Ellerslie.

"She'd have got that fresh I wouldn't have been able to control her."

As impressive as Ekstreme was in the Captain Cook, Revell was sure the mare was still short of full fitness.

"We got away with it because the track improved. If it'd been a heavy 10 she'd have gone up and down in the one spot because of lack of fitness.

"When I saw her in the birdcage at her previous start at Pukekohe [in the Breeders Stakes] I realised how well she'd been doing and how much she was going to need racing to bring her right."

The electric pace of Saturday's race - they ran 1:33.94, compared with Ruud Van Slaats' time of 1:35.07 last year - helped Ekstreme.

Mamasan, in blinkers, tore along in front with Jason Waddell tracking mid-field on Ekstreme.

"I got on to the back of Ruud Van Slaats because I knew she'd take me into the race."

Waddell knew that because he won the race on Ruud Van Slaats a year ago.

"I could see Dancing Jess [second] was also travelling well, so I kept her in my sights."

Waddell admitted to blowing hard afterwards. The previous day he returned after a six-week suspension with two rides at Tauranga.

"I hadn't even had a trial ride during the six weeks. I'd done a lot of work in the gym, but no matter what you do nothing replaces raceday fitness."

Waddell won on Ekstreme on her home track at Taranaki last season and rated the mare highly.

Opie Bosson got the ride when Waddell could not make the weight for Ekstreme at Te Rapa soon after and stayed with the mare, including for last week's Captain Cook.

Opie Bosson was riding at Awapuni on Saturday to stay with class filly Katie Lee.

"It's [the ride] got to go back to Opie," said Revell.

Ekstreme might be a lot stronger than as a 3-year-old last season, but she's still no oil painting to other than Bryce Revell and his owners.

She is very versatile in distance and with track conditions.

"She's very good on firm ground, but she's even better when it rains."

Trainer John Sargent said although it might not yet be set in concrete, Passchendaele should now go for a spell to be set for the $1 million Stella Artois Auckland Cup in March.

The highly promising mare did everything expected of her in winning Saturday's $100,000 Waikato Times Gold Cup.

She was beautifully placed with 53.5kg and made the most of it.