The addition of blinkers and step up to 2000m played in favour of the well fancied Ladies Man (NZ) (Zed) as he distanced his rivals in the run home to take out the Landmark Homes City of New Plymouth Cup (2000m).
The Allan Sharrock-trained five-year-old has the Gr.3 New Zealand Campus For Innovation & Sport Wellington Cup (3200m) as a major summer mission and he looked every bit a leading candidate as he lapped up the middle distance journey on Saturday.
Settled against the rail in midfield by rider Craig Grylls, the son of Zed loped along without a care in the world until Grylls asked him to improve between runners approaching the home turn.
Grylls found space as the field straightened for the run home and Ladies Man drove clear as he extended his winning margin to more than four lengths at the finish line in beating Sporting Chance and One Bold Cat.
Sharrock had been confident of a good performance from his charge and got just what he had hoped for.
“It was what we expected to be honest and he has delivered,” Sharrock said.
“We’ve played the long game with him as he has undoubted ability but has been pretty weak until now.
“In saying that I still think he won’t peak until he is six or seven, but he has come up extremely well for this campaign and I think he is only going to get better.”
Sharrock will see how Ladies Man comes through his run before setting his next task, but there is likely to be only one more run before taking on the Wellington Cup on January 28.
“We’re going to keep our fingers crossed nothing goes wrong between now and the Cup,” he said.
“Once he has a few days off I’ll take a look at what is coming up, but at this stage it will be a choice between either the Marton Cup (Listed, 2200m) or the Trentham Stakes (Gr.3, 2100m) as his Cup lead-up.
“We know he can go on a firm surface, but should we get rain that is also going to play into his hands, so I think the bases are covered.
“Craig has also confirmed he wants the ride so I think he has made a very good choice.”
The winner of four of his 13 starts, Ladies Man was bred at Grangewilliam Stud and purchased out of their Book 2 draft at Karaka in 2019 by Sharrock for $60,000.
He is out of the Gr.3 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) winner Just Polite and is a half-brother to Sharrock’s 2018 Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) winner Ladies First.
The victory saw TAB Bookmakers quickly install him as the $3.50 Fixed Odds favourite for the Wellington Cup to be run on 28 January, while he is also the $8 favourite for the Gr.2 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m) to be raced at Pukekohe on March 11.
Sharrock will now turn his attention to the Gr.1 Cambridge Stud Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Pukekohe on Boxing Day where his class mare Sinarahma is rated the $3.20 Fixed Odds favourite.
“It’s a pretty quiet Christmas day in the Sharrock house, but the best present we could ask for is a Group One win on Monday,” he said.”
