Talented stayer Sword In Stone (NZ) (Redwood) appreciated a stretch of the legs on Awapuni’s renovated grass surface ahead of Saturday’s Listed Valley D’Vine Restaurant Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m) at Trentham.
The Redwood gelding stepped out in the first of 11 trials at the Palmerston North venue on Tuesday, where jockey Kavish Chowdhoory allowed him to cruise along comfortably in midfield through the mid-stages. When in clear air down the straight, Sword In Stone ran down the leader with ease and powered through the line to take the heat by 1-1/2 lengths.
“He hasn’t raced since the Auckland Cup (Gr.2, 3200m) and I felt that he needed a bit of a blowout, and with Palmerston on our back doorstop, it was nice to be able to take him there,” co-trainer Stephen Gray said. “I thought he trialled beautifully.
“I took him up to Waverley last Friday and he had a nice gallop between races there, and then he had a quiet weekend, so I thought another quiet trial would bring him on for Wellington.”
The evergreen nine-year-old finished seventh in the two-mile feature on Champions Day, a more than satisfactory result for the multiple-Group One performer in Hong Kong.
“He went so well in the Auckland Cup, he just went terrific, and we were rapt,” Gray said.
“I know he only ran seventh, but for a nine-year-old coming back from Hong Kong to run like he did, I thought he was great. I looked ahead at what could suit and I thought this race (Hawke’s Bay Cup) would be a better choice than the St Leger, so I freshened him up and he’s had a couple of nice trips away, so he’s ready to go again.
“I just hope it doesn’t get too wet down there.”
Gray, who trains in partnership with his father Kevin, couldn’t have been happier with the presentation of Awapuni, which copped plenty of rain through the morning and early afternoon.
“I thought the track was amazing at Awapuni, it was beautiful,” he said.
“It was very exciting, I’ve only been back (in New Zealand) for about seven months but the rest of the racing fraternity, the owners and trainers in there and all of the participants in the CD have been through a lot lately and are looking forward to getting Awapuni going again.
“It was quite heavily raining and the track held up well, it wasn’t slippery. It was a credit to everyone involved and hopefully it all unfolds later in the season to be of great service.”
The Copper Belt Lodge stable had three of their fellow Trentham representatives at Awapuni earlier in the morning, including promising three-year-old Albarossa and stakes contenders Idyllic and Silent Is Gold.
“I took those three horses into Awapuni this morning and RACE provided the track for us to use, which was great, and it presented very well at the trials,” Gray said.
Albarossa (Vino Rosso) was among a five-horse finish in the three-year-old race on Sires’ Produce Day, finishing just half a length from stakes winner Super Photon. A potential shot at the Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) is now on the table for the son of Vino Rosso, who will contest the Entain/NZB Insurance Pearl Series (1100m) on Saturday.
“Albarossa is a very promising horse, I thought he went huge the other day fresh-up in that field,” Gray said.
“He’ll appreciate a bit of easing in the tracks and I think it’s a good race for him. Hopefully he can prove himself to go up for the Cambridge Breeders.”
The meeting was initially set to be held at Otaki, which would’ve been a better fit for Listed City Of Napier Sprint (1200m) contender Idyllic (No Nay Never).
Known for her scorching early pace, Idyllic has been most effective over courses such as Otaki, Tauherenikau and Awapuni, but the unique Trentham dogleg hasn’t been her friend in previous attempts.
“Unfortunately, Idyllic doesn’t perform as well at Wellington as she can, it just seems to find her out,” Gray said. “We were hoping the races were going to be at Otaki but unfortunately that hasn’t happened, so that’s probably her disadvantage.
“She did trial magnificently at Foxton the other day and she’s in great order, she’ll run very well but it’s just unfortunate for the connections that it’s been transferred.
“Trentham has taken a lot of big races, and she would’ve been very competitive at Otaki. But it is what it is and we’ll just see how we go.”
Her stablemate Silent Is Gold (Star Turn) will also take his place in the $80,000 feature after performing commendably in the Listed Lightning Handicap (1200m) last-start.
“He went great, (Michael) McNab (jockey) said he just over-raced with the blinkers on for the first time and he gave me a bit of a tune up saying I shouldn’t have put them on,” Gray quipped. “We’ll take them off again this week.
“He’s a great little horse, he’s honest and will run well, it’s just whether he’s good enough.”
Since returning from Singapore, the seven-time winner is yet to get on the board in New Zealand but has recorded three runner-up finishes in five attempts.
