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Marsh mares aiming for more Sydney prizemoney; Julius on track for Rotorua; Showcasing filly salutes on debut
Marsh mares aiming for more Sydney prizemoney
The Stephen Marsh-trained mares Campari and Mark Two both successfully broke their maidens at Gosford last week and the Cambridge conditioner is looking forward to their next starts and winning further Australian prizemoney.
“Mark Two runs at Randwick on October 27 in a Rating 78 over 2000m,” Marsh said. “It is a A$125,000 race and she is rated 76, so she has to go to a Saturday meeting now.
“Campari will run at Warwick Farm on October 24 in a BenchMark 70 over 1400m.
“The trip is paid for now, so whatever we can do now we will get a little bit of spending money.”
Meanwhile, Marsh has reported stablemate Santa Catarina has arrived back in New Zealand following a disappointing two-start Sydney campaign.
“She will have a little break and we will just assess how long it takes her to bounce before she comes back into work, but I don’t suspect it will be too long,” he said.
Julius on track for Rotorua
Talented sprinter Julius prepared for a return to racing in the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) at Rotorua on Saturday week with an exhibition gallop at Taupo on Wednesday under regular rider Jason Waddell.
“He feels good,” Waddell said. “He is a bit of a big goof by himself and it is his first time at Taupo and it is pretty open and windy, but he ran home really well.
“It’s a day out for him and that will bring him on nicely for next Saturday.”
Waddell said he was looking forward to riding Julius in feature sprints over the summer and believed he would bounce back from his narrow defeat at the hands of Melody Belle in the Gr.2 Lisa Chittick Foxbridge Plate (1200m).
“Melody Belle has proven that she is probably the best horse in the country at the moment,” Waddell said.
“I knew she was pretty special that day she beat us at Te Rapa as he is a hard horse to get past. She showed her fighting qualities and went on and franked the form.
“He is a tough competitor and the last time he got beaten by a nose he came out and won his next four straight.
A dual Group Three winner, Julius has won seven of his 12 starts and been placed in the other five.
Showcasing filly salutes on debut
A week after two-year-old Showcasing filly Last Sight won on debut at Ruakaka, Valachi Downs principal Kevin Hickman struck again with another filly by the same sire, The Tailors Niece, on debut at Tauherenikau.
Trained by John Bary at Hastings, The Tailors Niece was last early in the NZB Insurance Pearl Series 2YO (1000m) but drew away late in the piece to prove too strong for her rivals.
The Tailors Niece is out of a half-sister to Valachi Down’s stallion Savile Row, who is standing his first season at stud.
“We’re over the moon,” Valachi Downs stud manager Jonathan Scully said.
“We’ve had two two-year-old starters, both by Showcasing and both winners. It’s a great start to the season for Kevin and nice that she’s from Savile Row’s family.
“She was professional to the line and pulled away. It might have been a small field, but she came up against some promising horses.
“Last Sight and The Tailors Niece appear two promising fillies in the scale of things so far this season and they could both be capable of getting some black type.”
