Evergreen galloper Green Luck will try to continue to belie his age when he heads to Te Rapa on Saturday to contest the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m).
The 10-year-old son of Street Cry made the long journey north to the Waikato earlier this week from trainer Stephanie Faulkner’s Timaru base, and the southern horsewoman said he has settled in well.
“He arrived at Pam Gerard’s (in Matamata) at lunchtime yesterday (Tuesday),” Faulkner said.
“My husband, Pete, went with him. It is his first trip away with a horse, so it is an experience for him. He travelled like a charm – he has eaten up and drunk well. We are pleased with him at the moment.”
It will be the second crack at the Livamol for the well-travelled Green Luck, who began his career in Australia before competing in Hong Kong, and eventually made his way to Canterbury.
He came into the care of the late Paul Harris two years ago and was taken north to tackle all three legs of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, running fifth in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m), seventh in the Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) at Matamata, and fourth in the Livamol Classic.
He secured stakes success for Faulkner earlier this year when winning the Gr.3 Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m) at Riccarton in April, and Faulkner is keen to add to that this weekend.
Green Luck heads into the race in winning form after taking out the North Canterbury Cup (2000m) at Riccarton last month.
While his previous three unplaced runs weren’t overly flattering results, Faulkner said they were better than they appeared, and she believes he will be peaking for his Group One target on Saturday.
“I know some of his runs on paper don’t look good, but if you watch the races, he has actually gone really well,” Faulkner said. “He has carried huge weights. Last start he had 61kg and the second horse had 54kg. To win was a massive effort by the horse and he is still on the improve.
“We are happy going into Saturday, he will be at his peak.”
While they have had to travel a little further to Waikato after the meeting was transferred from Hastings as a result of track conditions, Faulkner isn’t overly perturbed by the further trip.
“When you are travelling for almost 24 hours anyway, another four or five isn’t too much of an issue,” she said. “It’s a long trip for us anyway, it is just sad for Hastings that it is not there.”
Te Rapa was rated a Heavy8 on Wednesday morning, with further rain forecast heading into the weekend, but Faulkner said her charge won’t be hindered by a wet track.
“The track sounds like it is going to be a bit on the heavier side, but that won’t bother him,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it is a Good4 or Heavy9 or 10, if he is right on the day her will go well.”
Faulkner has secured the services of in-form northern hoop Sam Spratt for the Livamol, with Green Luck set to jump from barrier 11.
“We are really chuffed to get Sam, she is the best barrier rider in New Zealand I believe,” Faulkner said. “He likes to race on the pace, which is what he will be doing.”
Green Luck’s northern trip will be a hit-and-run mission, and Faulkner said she will look for further targets when he returns home.
“We haven’t really looked forward after this. He is just one run at a time type of horse,” she said. “Soundness-wise, his legs are looking great. He will definitely come home after this and have a week or two off and we will have a look at something after that.
“It is hard to place him in the South Island now with the handicaps. We will be looking at set weights and penalties races somewhere or weight-for-age, which suits him.”
Closer to home on Saturday, Faulkner will have just the one runner at Ashburton, with Cheney set to tackle the Mike Pero Mortgages (1400m).
“Unfortunately, she has got a wide draw (15),” Faulkner said. “She may be ridden a bit cold this time and see if we can get her home. She is a horse that will run over a bit more ground coming into the summer. She likes the tight-turning tracks.”