3 minute read
It will be a 900km round trip by the time Lettre D'amour finds her way home after racing in the feature race at Narromine on Tuesday, but trainer Philippe Vigouroux isn’t the least bit concerned.
Philippe Vigouroux will make the long trip hoping the stable's recent run of success in feature races can rub off on Lettre D'Amour in the Narromine USMC Diggers Cup (1300m).
"I love the country meetings and even though I train the horses at Hawkesbury, I enjoy the atmosphere of these type of racedays," he said.
"We won the Narromine Cup with At Twilight (2015) and I like getting to the meetings there even though it is more than five hours from home."
Vigouroux thinks Lettre D'amour is well placed to figure hence why he selected the assignment for her first-up after a racing break of several weeks.
The mare showed she was in need of a mini-break after her last start fifth at Kembla Grange which followed a win at Newcastle, according to her trainer.
Lettre D'amour has earned over $150,000 and is raced on lease by Vigouroux and his wife Tara from owner Dale Casson.
The freshen-up of three weeks in the paddock and another four weeks back in work has been perfect for the six-year-old, according to her trainer.
"If she doesn't win she won't be far away. She was at the end of her preparation last start and needed a break," he said. "My only concern is her fitness for the last 100 metres at her first start back from a break."
The Vigouroux team won the Bathurst Soldier's Saddle on Sunday with Zouologist which is another galloper the stable races on lease.
Jockey Mikayla Weir was in the saddle on Sunday and the stable will rely on the jockey and their sole runner to ensure the trip to Narromine is worthwhile.
"I have been to Narromine a few times and won a few races there," Vigouroux said. "It is a bit easier at these meetings for our horses instead of coming up against some of the major stables with better horses at other country meetings."
Lettre D'amour, which in French means a love letter, is a well-named mare who has been part of the stable since the start of her career. She won her first race Kembla Grange in July of 2018 and has recorded seven wins and nine placings from 36 starts.
The topweight A Magic Zariz won the corresponding race in 2020 and is one of the class runners with prizemoney of $223,00. The same can be said of Zaunkonig which has earned over $300,000 and will be having his first start back from a spell.
First emergency A Martin Place Pick ran second in the Digger's Cup last year and will gain a start with a few in doubt of running including Amy's Shadow who finished seventh in Sunday's Bathurst Soldier's Saddle, and Dubai Tycoon having drawn barrier 15 with no jockey paid up.
The Narromine track is rated as a Good 4 for the seven-race program.
