By Jonny Turner
Cran Dalgety has returned to New Zealand’s training ranks with a spring in his step and a fire in his belly ahead of Sunday’s meeting at Rangiora.
After working horses with wife Chrissie for two decades, the Dalgetys will start their first six runners together after forming an official training partnership.
Dalgety took a sabbatical from training duties when Nathan Purdon took on a more senior role at Kentuckiana Lodge at the start of this season.
With Purdon leaving New Zealand to set up a stable in Victoria later this month, the start of 2021 seemed the perfect time for Dalgety to step back into official training duties.
“It’s great to be back,” he said.
“Years ago I probably never thought I would be training in partnership with Chrissie, but with Nathan leaving the opportunity is here and it’s quite exciting.”
Dalgety comes back into the fold at a busy time with summer racing in full swing and the national yearling sales approaching.
“It is a great time to be coming back with the yearling sales coming up,” Dalgety said.
“We are in the process of inspecting this year’s yearlings and we like what we see.”
“There’s probably no better time to buy a yearling than this year.”
“We have got orders to fill for our existing clients and we have had a lot of interest from people wanting shares in horses right down to the small percentages.”
Dalgety has juggled preparing his team for Rangiora with careful study of the yearling sales catalogue.
“The two and three-year-old types are obviously the focus for us, the ones that can go on and race for the big money.”
“We have had a bit of luck with our sales purchases and ideally I would like to come home with a couple more Krugs and a couple of Bettor Joys.”
Shards In Manhattan in race 2 on Sunday will be the first runner Cran and Chrissie Dalgety start together in their new venture.
The three-year-old has pleased her trainers ahead of what will be her first run since October and she is expected to be highly competitive.
“I’d like to think she could be the better horse there,” Cran Dalgety said.
“Ideally we would have liked to have given her one more workout, but we will only be using that as an excuse after the race.”
Taurus Bromac comes into 4 after chasing Skiddadle in her highly impressive Canterbury debut at Ashburton.
Dalgety thinks the pacer should be well suited to his 2000m mobile assignment on Sunday.
The Dalgety barn start another Bromac in race 5 in Twilight Bromac.
The three-year-old ran in some smart maiden fields earlier in the spring before being freshened.
Twilight Bromac should return to the track a sharper horse after going under the knife during his time out.
“He has had the ultimate gear change, he is two stone lighter after we gelded him,” Dalgety said.
“He is better behaved for it and he should go a big race.”
Admirable comes into race 6 for the Dalgety stable after a slightly disappointing sixth behind the smart Cranbourne at Ashburton in his last start.
Changes have been made to the horse’s work regime and more is expected from him on Sunday.
“He was looking a little bit pretty, so we have upped his work and he should be a lot better for it.”
“I’d like to think he can run a big race.”
The Dalgety trained Invaluable will start from the outside of the arm when he clashes with talented three-year-old Corravally Star and Kiss The Girls, an unlucky third placegetter in her last start, in race 8.
The Dalgety stable complete their day with Pink Flamingo Run, who has had a shocking run of luck going into race 10.
“She was just swamped last time after doing a bit of work.”
“The race before that the tube came off her tyre and before that she was looming into it in an amateur race and she locked wheels and got dragged back to last.”
“I would like to be pretty confident with her, but the inside draw on the second row is a concern.”
