Another North Island mission beckons for Prince Alby after the classy stayer headlined a treble of victories for trainer Kelvin Tyler and apprentice jockey Donovan Cooper at Wingatui on Sunday.
Prince Alby had journeyed to the Central Districts with three-year-old stablemate Lady Sass over the summer period, collecting black-type when finishing second in the Listed Marton Cup (2200m), but failed to figure next-start in the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m).
Contesting the RMG Publicans Cup (1500m) in a fresh state, Tyler engaged four kilogram-claiming apprentice Cooper, and Prince Alby travelled boldly throughout under a luxury 53.5kg impost. The gelding’s staying prowess was evident in the closing stages, fighting off Fiery Red, and his fast-closing stablemate Go Lotte.
“In himself, he’s never been so good, and he’s put on a bit of weight,” Tyler said.
“I thought maybe 1500m may have been a bit dour, so I took the visors off and put blinkers on to sharpen him up. It certainly helped, he actually got away strongly where I thought he might’ve been a bit flat.”
The son of Sacred Falls will run in his local feature next Saturday alongside in-form Tyler runner Shockallia, the race acting as a final lead-in before the Listed Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m) at Otaki on April 13.
“He’s going to race in the Riverton Cup (2147m) on the 30th of March, then he’ll be back off to the North Island with Lightning Jack for some nice races up there,” he said.
“I’m trying to keep Prince Alby separate from Shockallia, he’s also a high-quality horse and will be running in the Canterbury Gold Cup (Gr.3, 2000m). After that, we have to look north, there’s just no staying races on turf left for these good horses in the South Island.”
The Riverton trainer’s successful meeting had commenced earlier on the card with recent stable addition Vamos, the son of Vadamos guided to a narrow victory by Cooper in the Edinburgh Realty (1600m).
“It’s easy to say afterwards, but we had expected him to win or be very close. I couldn’t fault his work, he’s come down from the North Island with a beautiful nature, and hasn’t done a thing wrong,” Tyler said.
Tyler’s patience with Quick Call was duly rewarded in the Open three-year-old 1600m event, the Turn Me Loose filly delivering a comfortable maiden victory warranting a trip to Riccarton Park in three weeks’ time.
“She just needed a bit of time really, she had a couple of hard races on the West Coast as she was coming down our way and she needed some time to get over that. She’s still on the way up,” Tyler said.
“She seems very genuine and luckily has got very patient owners that have let me do my own thing. If we look after her, she’s quite a handy wee horse going forward.”
Tyler also praised the efforts of Cooper, who has recorded eight wins from 65 rides this season.
“I couldn’t fault his rides, he won three races for me so I can hardly criticise. He did a great job,” he said.
“He put them in the race and got out in clear air at the right time, I’m happy to let them go out three wide if it gives forward momentum into the straight.”
The Listed NZB Insurance Stakes (1600m) and Listed NZB Warstep Stakes (2000m) are to be run on consecutive weekends in April, and Tyler indicated the fillies’ features are now in sight for Quick Call and stablemate Radiant Reach, the latter finishing a close-up second in the Rating 65 1600m event at Wingatui.
“I believe she (Radiant Reach) was good enough to be in the New Zealand Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m), but her two previous runs weren’t quite up to what we had expected,” Tyler said.
“It was a long trip to go up to Wellington and roll the dice, so we just decided to put the blinkers on and run over the mile at home, which sharpened her up a bit.
“She’s above average, so she’ll run at Riccarton with Quick Call. You can’t beat running in your own age group against your own sex.”
Tyler hopes also to campaign talented galloper Lightning Jack over the autumn, however, indicated the Group One-performing seven-year-old has taken significant time to recover from Cup Week in November.
“We decided to run Prince Alby yesterday instead of running over 1800m at Riccarton (this Saturday). The way the track has been up there is like concrete, Lightning Jack has taken almost six months to get over running there in the Coupland’s Mile (Gr.3, 1600m),” he said.
“We couldn’t afford to risk Prince Alby there. I see a lot of tracks around New Zealand, and the track there will say a Soft 5 on Friday afternoon when it’s really a 2 or 3. I believe they need independent penetrometer readings, it’s not good enough.
“I love my horses, and it’s a long way for us to travel, and not cheap.”
