Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh moved to within four wins of his best ever seasonal tally when he produced a winning treble at Ruakaka.
Marsh achieved a career high of 97 victories in the 2018/19 season and has now accrued 93 for the current season to date after Masetto (NZ) (Cape Blanco), Mistress Minx (NZ) (Reliable Man) and Tightlign (NZ) (Align) all saluted for him on Saturday.
It was a fitting return to form for six-year-old gelding Masetto in the One Tree Point Motel Bream Bay Cup (2100m) as he registered his last career victory in the same race just on a year ago, while for lightly raced four-year-old Mistress Minx it was just her second victory and first since October 2020.
In contrast, consistent Align gelding Tightlign registered his fourth win in his last five starts and the ninth of his career when 4kg claiming apprentice Crystal Lindsay guided him to a typically game front-running success in the MWIS Lawyers Bream Bay Sprint (1400m).
Marsh wasn’t in attendance at the track on Saturday as he was honouring a commitment to a school friend at his stag do but managed to catch the racing on his phone and was delighted with what he saw.
“It was great to have that sort of success and I thought each of our wins were well deserved,” he said.
“Masetto was very brave as he had to carry the full 61kg topweight and he just wouldn’t give in when the challenges came in the straight.
“I knew he had won a similar race last year and had run well on the course before so he will be heading back up there during the winter for further opportunities.
“Mistress Minx has been really good lately and has turned a corner with her barrier manners. She used to be tardily away and give herself too much to do but now she is jumping and putting herself in the thick of things which has seen her form improve out of sight.”
Marsh was also quick to praise Lindsay for her ride on Tightlign, with the pair developing a lethal combination since registering their first win together at Avondale at the beginning of April.
Photo Credit: Trish Dunell
“Crystal and Tightlign just click like peas and carrots,” Marsh said.
“You can see that he wants to run for her and she gets him away nicely from the gates and judges pace on him extremely well.
“He seems to be at his peak as an eight-year-old although he did have about eighteen months off towards the end of 2019 with soundness issues.
“He handles most track conditions so there will be a few more opportunities for him over the next few weeks.”
Marsh is also keen to claim the seven further wins he needs to register 100 victories in a New Zealand racing season.
“Our goal all along has been to crack the tonne here in New Zealand,” he said.
“The year that we finished on 97 wins we also had three in Australia but I have always had the aim to make that 100-win mark here.
“We’ve actually had a lot less starters than last year when we hit 92 wins so I’m delighted with our strike rate (8.08) as well.
“With six weeks to go in the season I will be incredibly disappointed if we can’t get the wins we need to make our goal.
“We are still 24 wins short of the total set by Jamie Richards before he left for Hong Kong so there is no danger of us passing him, but that magical 100 mark is still very much on the cards.”
