Terri Rae will put two newcomers to her stable on trial for Group race spoils at Ashburton on Thursday.
The Riccarton trainer has Group Three performer Just Fabulous and the former Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Romantic Whisper set for their first appearance in her care in Thursday’s Betty Wadley Memorial (1400m) at Ashburton.
Should they perform well, both could contest the Gr.3 Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday week.
Medaglia D’Oro five-year-old mare Romantic Whisper won three races in New South Wales from 18 starts before she was bought by Blenheim breeder Stephanie Hole for $A22,500 in an online auction.
“Stephanie bought her with a view to breeding from her,” said Rae, who has a racing share in the mare as well.
“She’s pretty well bred and Stephanie just wanted people to go in and race her for the first year. If she’s good enough to race for another season, we’ll do that, otherwise she’ll be bred from in the new season.
“She’s actually a really nice horse, a lovely mare to do anything with. As long as she goes well enough, we’ll look at the Breeders’ Stakes with her but we’ll know a lot more about where we’re at with her after tomorrow.”
Romantic Whisper has had two trials for Rae, placing in her first outing over 1000m at Ashburton last month before a stylish 3-1/4 length win over 1000m at Rangiora last week.
“The first trial was just really to get a line on her and see where we were at and then she won her second one easily,” Rae said.
“She’s so easy to deal with and she feels nice and fit. This is a good distance to kick her off at and I think she’ll be right there at the finish.”
Five-year-old O’Reilly mare Just Fabulous, who placed in the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at Awapuni at three, was also a trial winner for Rae at Rangiora last week.
Just Fabulous will race for new owners, having been secured by Tony Pike, Bruce Sherwin, Di McDonald and Wayne and Vicki Pike chiefly as a broodmare prospect.
“She had two weeks’ break after she last raced before she came down to me,” Rae said.
“It’s been quite a quick process from joining me, trialling and this race. She just needed a good hit-out at the trials and I asked Krishna (Mudhoo, jockey) to make sure she had one. From here it’s nine days to that next race and the mile of the Breeders’ will suit her.
“Ashburton tends to suit on-pace horses and there are four or five on-speed horses, including Romantic Whisper, but as long as she is hitting the line nicely, she’ll be on track for the Breeders’.”
Rae expected the race shape to favour Romantic Whisper as the pick of her pair at Ashburton.
“I’d be leaning a little bit more to Romantic Whisper, just over the distance with two runs under her belt and Ashburton favouring her as an on-pace runner,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Ashburton meeting will be missing three Canterbury jockeys who are sidelined through injury. Tina Comignaghi is nursing a back injury after she was involved in a car accident, while Racha Cuneen has a broken ankle and Sanu Toolooa sustained minor injuries from a fall at Riccarton on Wednesday morning and has been stood down for the day.
