The Haunui Farm-bred and raced Bound To Be impressed with her runner-up debut performance at Ruakaka earlier this month and trainer Kylie Hoskin believes she can go one better at Cambridge on Wednesday.
The three-year-old daughter of Reliable Man will head to the midweek synthetic meeting where she will tackle the Waikato Tractors 1300.
Bound To Be had two trials on the surface last year and Hoskin believes she is capable of featuring in her first raceday appearance on the track.
“She had a few trials there (Cambridge Synthetic) and Warren Kennedy rode her,” Hoskin said.
“He said she gave him a really nice feel, but she was just a bit weak and needed to strengthen up a bit.
“She has been on the surface before and liked it, so I am reasonably confident of a good showing tomorrow.”
Hoskin was pleased with Bound To Be’s debut performance and isn’t perturbed by her wide alley of 10 on Wednesday.
“It was a really nice run, we were really impressed with how she found the line,” she said.
“She didn’t draw well at Ruakaka either, and she has got some gate speed, so I think she will be okay.”
Hoskin said she has taken her time with the filly and believes her connections will now bear the fruit of their patience.
“The connections at Haunui and Mark Chitty have been really patient. She is a bit of a hot filly and they have allowed me to take my time with her,” she said.
“She seems to be hitting her straps now. She is a happy horse and really content within herself. We are confident that she has got a good prep ahead.”
The Byerley Park trainer will also head south on Wednesday with two-year-old filly Fun Never Sets, who will be fresh-up in the Pryde’s Easifeed 970.
The daughter of Proisir will get her first taste of Cambridge’s synthetic track and Hoskin is looking forward to testing her left-handed ahead of a potential tilt at the Listed Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Wanganui next month.
“That (synthetic track) is a bit of an unknown for her, but she has got a lovely action, so I think it won’t bother her too much,” Hoskin said.
“It will be good to have a look at her left-handed to see how she handles that. There is a stakes race at Wanganui next month if she goes okay.”
Meanwhile, Hoskin is pleased with the way her Group 2 performer Zaila has come through her unplaced run in last Saturday’s Group 3 Rotorua Stakes (1400m).
“She was bouncing around the place this morning. I think she just got stuck wide and had no luck, but she hasn’t taken any harm from the run,” she said.
“We will look at the Open 1500m at Pukekohe next Saturday and then after that possibly put her in the stayers race a fortnight after that at Ruakaka just to see if she is going to stay or not before we give her a freshen-up and look at the spring at Hastings.”
Zaila could be joined on a similar path by new stablemate Quality Time, who pleased Hoskin with his runner-up performance behind Turn The Ace in his first start for the stable at Te Rapa earlier this month.
“That far exceeded our expectations,” Hoskin said.
“He has never had a race over 1200m in his life so we weren’t really expecting that, but the way he hit the line, it is very exciting and I am looking forward to him over the next few months.
“We are going to look at that Open 1500m at Pukekohe as well and possibly look to give him a freshen-up and look to Hastings in the spring.”
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