Stablemates and full-siblings Giacomo and Santa Catalina will go head-to-head for the first time in Wednesday’s Holster Engineering Lally and Symes South Waikato Cup (2000m) at Matamata.
The elder of the pair, six-year-old Giacomo (NZ) (Puccini), has four race wins under his belt and has been a model of consistency this campaign, placing behind the likes of Willydoit, Balance Of Power and most recently, Doddle at the course on March 1.
Peter McKay, who trains the gelding in partnership with his son Shaun, applauded the last-start effort after being taken on throughout the 2000m contest.
“It was a really good run, but he was just getting a little bit annoyed with others trying to take him on in front,” he said. “There’s normally a lack of speed in races so we sent one forward to set a decent pace, and you still get taken on.
“That probably undid him a bit from winning, but there was still a good five lengths back to the rest of the field and the two horses that took him on were well out of the money.
“He’s bounced through that really well, hopefully he won’t be attacked in that same way tomorrow but if they do, it may make it for the other horse we have in the race.”
Younger sister Santa Catalina (NZ) (Puccini) has considerably less race experience and a lower rating, but has shown promise of becoming a quality stayer, excusing her last run on Avondale Cup Day.
“It was a little bit indifferent, the start before that she wasn’t ridden very well and got too far back, but came home well late,” McKay said. “She probably got a little bit out of her ground last-start as well, but she also didn’t come through the race as well as we would’ve liked.
“We’ve put it down to either the muggy heat or something underlying going on prior to that, and in her last run-up since, she’s hardly blown and she’s going well.
“It’s not ideal starting her in this race, but it was either that or going to Pukekohe on Friday. So if she can run in the first two or three, there’s a nice (rating) 65 race at Wellington in a couple of weeks’ time. And if she wins, then she’s won a race.”
Each by the McKay’s multiple-Group One winner Puccini, out of an O’Reilly mare, Giacomo and Santa Catalina both have taken to the staying role, but the latter did so much sooner in her career.
“She’s probably got to staying a lot quicker, she’s got a bit more constitution about her,” McKay said.
“Earlier on with Giacomo, every time we got the work into him and got him up to going over ground, he would drop away in condition. He’s finally getting there now, while she stepped up quickly to getting over ground as a four-year-old, and I think she’ll be a really nice five-year-old staying mare.
“At this stage though, at the weights, he should be winning tomorrow, and she should be running on close enough.”
The market mirrors McKay’s opinion, with Giacomo currently sitting at $1.65 ahead of Ess Vee Are ($4) and Santa Catalina ($5.50). They will be ridden by Jasmine Fawcett and Craig Grylls respectively.
