Te Akau pair Prise De Fer and Need I Say More had an exhibition gallop between races at Matamata on Wednesday ahead of their upcoming assignments at Hastings next week.
Group One performer Prise De Fer produced an eye-catching third in the Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) earlier this month and is readying for a tilt at the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) at Hastings next Saturday.
“Prise De Fer is stepping from 1200m to a mile, a month between runs, and he needed it (exhibition gallop),” trainer Jamie Richards said.
Richards elected to bypass the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) on the first day of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival in favour of targeting the last two legs of the Triple Crown.
“We were a little worried about three trips in six weeks to Hastings so decided to concentrate on the second and third legs with him and the gallop will tidy him up nicely,” Richards said.
Need I Say More will join his stablemate on the trip to Hastings next week where he will target the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m).
The son of No Nay Never will be vying to keep his undefeated record intact after winning his three previous starts, including the Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and Gr.3 Waikato Stud Slipper (1200m).
“Need I Say More is a month between runs up to 1400m,” Richards said.
“He’s not a horse that needs a lot of racing, so we’ve taken our time with him. He worked nice and strong and Gryllsy (Craig Grylls, jockey) was happy with how he felt, as was Troy (Harris, jockey) with Prise De Fer.”
Prise De Fer was purchased by Te Akau principal David Ellis out of Trelawney Stud’s 2017 Premier Yearling Sale draft for $100,000, and he also purchased Need I Say More out of Kilgravin Lodge’s 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Sale draft for $130,000.
