By Michael Guerin
Steven Reid hopes he has found the right horse at the right time of his life.
That horse could be Coastal Babe, who smashed her opponents in the Group 1 2YO Caduceus Club Classic at Alexandra Park on Friday night to leave no doubts she is the best pacing filly in the north at the moment.
The daughter of Downbytheseaside was sent straight to the front by Matty White and never looked like being headed as she rated 1:56.6 for the 2200m, holding out Ultimate Racy Girl and Akatea with the plunge filly Treacherous Baby only late clear and luckless after being backed from $7 to $1.90.
But there could be few excuses as the winner did all the work, which Reid admits he thought was too much.
“In the middle stages I was talking to myself saying Matty was going way too fast,” laughs the Pukekohe trainer.
“But when he came back in he said she was just jogging it.
“She is improving that much and her work had suggested she improved heaps since her last race.”
Reid has been to the top of the harness racing tree, having won Cups and had huge premiership seasons but he says having turned 60 he wouldn’t want to go back to big team training.
“I only have 12 in work and sure I’d like more and sometimes I wonder why I don’t get more.
“But also being realistic when you train good young horses you realise that a few of those are far better than a huge team of horses when many of them are battlers.
“So yes I have room for more but I am excited about what the future holds for this filly.”
Coastal Babe’s next big targets are at Addington where she heads for Show Day and the Grand Prix meeting before the huge smorgasbord of three-year-old fillies races spread out before her next season.
Some of those are sure to be in Australia with the filly bought and still part-owned and managed by Summit Bloodstock, whose boss Jamie Durnberger-Smith awoke to the news of her win in Ohio where he is attending the Little Brown Jug before the yearling sales next week.
Friday’s other feature was also won in all-the-way fashion by Fernleigh Cash when he stepped straight to the front in the Spring Cup and powered home in 54.9 seconds to make it impossible for those back in the field to make real ground.
Dual NZ Cup winner Copy That tried hard late and clawed his way into third after starting off a 20m handicap over 2200m but the heavily-backed Nicholas Cage missed away and blew his chances.
“He has really sharpened up the last few weeks and if he continues to do so maybe he will get his New Zealand Cup chance,” says trainer Steve Telfer.
“He will go to the Holmes D G here next and then maybe Kaikoura and that should give us an indication where we stand.”
Another definitely heading south will be Le Major had made it back to back Sires’ Stakes heats when be bolted away with the last race, the Woodlands Stud Sires’ Stakes 2YO Colts and Geldings Mobile Pace, in sizzling 55.4 and 26.9 (400m) sectionals to suggest he deserves to be one of the favourites for the Sires’ Stakes Final on Cup Day.
