Te Akau Racing mare Luxuriant is taking every opportunity with fortnightly polytrack meetings at Awapuni Synthetic, going back-to-back on Friday in the Ashhurst Deer And Duck Inn 1200.
The Iffraaj six-year-old was explosive late in her victory on June 21 at the venue, and stepping into Rating 75 grade, punters were anticipating a repeat performance backing her into $1.90 ahead of Kana ($3.80) and Lincoln’s Kruz ($5).
Quietly settling near the tail of the compact field under Warren Kennedy, Luxuriant allowed the speed-duel to play out in front of her with Lincoln’s Kruz eventually assuming control and running them strongly into the home straight.
Lincoln’s Kruz sprinted valiantly under his hefty 63kg impost but Luxuriant produced her powerful finishing surge to hunt down the pacemaker, the eventual margin being three-quarters of a length with Kana a further two lengths adrift in third.
Prepared by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson at Matamata, Luxuriant has found career-best form with three wins and four minor placings this term.
“It was another very good win, as it’s always hard to step up from Rating 65 to Rating 75 grade and she end up beating a horse that had won seven races including a stakes race (Lincoln’s Kruz),” Walker said.
“She’s getting on beautifully with Warren. He was patient and looked to rider her as though he knew what he had beneath him.
“They went at breakneck speed and she was out in time with the momentum over the last 100 metres, so it was really good to see.”
Luxuriant has now earned north of $64,000 for the Te Akau Opulent Syndicate, and Walker gave unique recognition for her recent success.
“The owners have been so patient with her because she just struggled to win a race there for a while, but now she’s racing really well and it’s not easy to keep going up in grades and win like she has,” he said.
“It shows that she’s full of confidence, and I’d also like to give a mention of ‘Poppy the pony’ that travels everywhere with her and lives in the same box as her at home.
“Since we started doing that with Luxuriant, she’s just like a different horse. I think that has helped her immensely in this preparation, just having that little pony living in the box with her and travelling to the races. It just seems to keep her in the zone, mentally.”
Kennedy claimed three wins on the Awapuni card with Bee Enchanted and Lincoln Towers also saluting for Lisa Latta, two of her four victories at the local meeting.
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