What The Grey Goose (NZ) (Reliable Man) possesses in talent may be hindered in match fitness when she takes her place in Saturday’s Gr.3 White Robe Lodge Weight For Age (1600m) at Wingatui.
The Invercargill visitor collected a major prize at Otago’s feature meeting last year, winning the $200,000 ODT Southern Mile Final (1600m) in what was a breakthrough season for the mare. She went on to finish fourth in the $350,000 TAB Southern Alps Challenge (1600m), and after a break, looked to be every bit as strong returning to the track this term.
The Grey Goose collected two successive victories at Wingatui and Ascot Park respectively in November before a hoof issue sidelined the mare for the remainder of the summer, meaning trainer Jo-Ann Gordon had to enter her into Saturday’s $220,000 contest first-up for nearly 100 days.
“She’s had problems with her hoof, she had an abscess and it’s taken a long time to get on top of,” Gordon said.
“This race was something we always planned to go to, but not fresh. I would’ve liked to have a run going into it, but it just hasn’t panned out that way. She’s a lot stronger, time is definitely her friend and she’s even strengthened up quite nicely over the last couple of months.
“I’m happy with her and she’s had plenty of work, but she’s lacking that match fitness.”
Making the task even stiffer is the weight-for-age conditions, meaning highly-rated gallopers including Perfect Scenario (NZ) (Iffraaj), Harlech (NZ) (Darci Brahma) and Matscot (NZ) (Haradasun) all sit just two kilograms higher that the mare in the weights.
“It’s a very, very good field, and being weight-for-age, it’s not ideal going in fresh-up when there are horses rated 103 that only carry two kilograms more,” Gordon said.
“The second slight concern is that while she does run on all tracks, she runs faster than most on a wet track, and it’s going to be fairly dry there on Saturday.
“I did toss up whether to wait and go to Riccarton first-up instead, but we’ve got to start somewhere and this is where it’s going to be. It’s only a one-day trip for the horse as well.”
