Improving four-year-old First Five will step into open company for the first time in Friday’s Nikau Contractors (1400m) at Pukekohe Park.
The son of Almanzor was tried over middle-distance trips as a three-year-old and in the recent spring, but has found his sweet spot back over the sprint trips, winning twice and placing in the remainder of his last four starts.
David Greene, who prepares First Five out of Te Rapa, had hoped to continue his momentum into the $350,000 Wairere Falls Classic (1500m) at Matamata earlier this month, but he narrowly failed to make the final field, forcing the gelding to revert back to 1200m.
Despite the drop in distance, First Five was only caught in the final bounds by another rising talent in December.
“He just keeps getting better at every start, we had hoped to run in the big race that day but unfortunately we were on the ballot,” Greene said.
“That was his first time dropping back to 1200m, so it was a pretty good effort to still be sharp enough to go as close as he did, and I think the 1400m is his best trip.”
In a compact field, Shamus will carry an impost of 62kg, compressing the weights for the rest of the field with First Five at 54kg under Lynsey Satherley.
“He’s going great, he’s been going really well this prep and he continues to improve every week,” Greene said.
“He’s in a really golden spot at the moment.”
Earlier in the meeting, two-year-old stablemate Sweet Ice will return from a freshen-up in the Stella Artois (1200m).
The Frosted gelding was a winner on debut at his home course, before taking on a hot field and finishing sixth in the Group 2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m).
“He had a bit of a break after his run on New Year’s Day and come back into it with the trial the other day,” Green said.
“He’s gone through a pretty big growing spell, so he’s a different horse physically than he was last time in. He was a little bit smaller and racier in the spring, but he’s a big, rangier middle-distance type of horse now.
“It will be interesting to see how he goes on Friday, but there’s probably a lot more to look forward to with him next season rather than the rest of this season.”
Sweet Ice currently remains in the nominations for the Group 1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Trentham next Saturday, but Green indicated that was an unlikely prospect for his young charge.
“He’s still in there, but it’s probably doubtful that we’ll go there at this stage, unless he really convinced us otherwise on Friday,” he said.
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