Star southerner Matscot (NZ) (Haradasun) displayed that he is on track for another Group One target in the North Island with a comfortable trial victory at Ashburton on Tuesday.
In the hands of jockey Samantha Wynne, Matscot was the slowest away in his five-horse 1200m heat, but he soon picked up his rivals turning for home, cruising to the line by 1-1/2 lengths to handy mare Nortibutnice.
Alan Reeves, who trains the seven-year-old in partnership with Sharon Robertson, was pleased with the performance as he prepares to take on the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa in 10 days’ time.
“He went well, it was a nice tick over to top him off before he goes up to Waikato next Saturday,” Reeves said.
“He galloped between races last Saturday as well because he’s got to travel up next Monday, so we’ve got to get his main work in this week. The trial was just to bring him down to earth a bit.
“He’ll travel by road this time and he’ll get to Matamata on Tuesday morning, which will give him a few days to get over it.”
The son of Haradasun is no stranger to long-distance travel, having crossed the Cook Strait to compete in the Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m), Gr.1 Mufhasa Classic (1600m) and Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) already this season. His best result of the three was a third behind One Bold Cat in the Arrowfield, and with a star-studded line-up set to take on the Herbie Dyke, Reeves is hopeful his charge is up to the challenge.
“He’s got to take on the likes of Orchestral, La Crique and Snazzytavi, so he’s got to be on his A game,” he said. “He’s probably going better than he was when we went to Ellerslie (Zabeel Classic), because of the rain down here during that week, we couldn’t work on the main tracks.
“He’s on target and as good as we can get him.”
