Kim Reid will get a decent line on Hi Yo Sass Bomb’s prospects at the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival when the talented mare steps out on her home track this weekend.
The New Plymouth trainer will run the daughter of Complacent in Saturday’s Seaton Park Handicap (1400m) at New Plymouth where the depth of opposition will prove a handy guide.
Reid is keen to test Hi Yo Sass Bomb at the elite level in the Group 1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) and the Group 1 Livamol Classic (2040m) on the closing two days at Hastings.
“I did have half a mind to go to Wanganui next week for the Group Three (Metric Mile, 1600m),” she said.
“Then I thought Saturday would be a really good chance to see how she stacks up against these good horses like Mustang Valley, One Bold Cat and Ladies Man.
“As long as she’s running strongly to the line, we will be looking toward Hawke’s Bay.”
Should Hi Yo Sass Bomb perform to expectations, the Group 1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) and the Group 1 Livamol Classic (2040m) will be the six-year-old’s targets.
The mare has yet to win beyond 1600m and her only previous attempt at a middle distance resulted in a midfield finish at Trentham, but there is confidence in the camp about her staying ability.
“Nothing went right that day, she’s quite a routine horse and she lost a shoe prior to going into the birdcage and she never got any time in there,” Reid said.
“She was wound up and over-raced the whole way and that’s not her, she used to do that early days but now she’s quite relaxed.
“I was a bit gutted because I was really looking forward to seeing her over that distance (2200m).
“She’s got a beautiful long stride and she will run it, it’s in her breeding and after her gallops she hardly blows, she’s a very naturally fit horse.”
Hi Yo Sass Bomb enjoyed a successful autumn campaign with victory in the Group 3 Cuddle Stakes (1600m) and finished runner-up in the Group 3 Taranaki Cup (1800m).
Following a break, she resumed at the end of last month at Wanganui and came from back in the field to claim top honours in the open handicap over 1200m.
“It was the first time I had put her over that distance, I’d never thought of her as a sprinter, and it was a tidy field with a lot of winter fit horses, so I was pretty pleased,” Reid said.
“She has trained on very well and it hasn’t knocked her.
“She’s a good doer and quite relaxed in general now, she used to stress a bit but she’s really come into herself.”
Hi Yo Sass Bomb is very much a family horse as she is raced by Reid with her parents Graeme and Josephine, who also bred the mare.
She is out of Hi Yo Soo, a daughter of Spartacus who won on five occasions up to 2200m.
“We’ve got a three-year-old brother and he will be coming back in next week and he looks quite a lot like Sass,” Reid said.
Horse racing news
