Talented Riverton three-year-old Riviera Rebel will head to Wingatui on Sunday to kick off a winter campaign that could culminate in a shot at the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m).
The son of Pure Champion will take on older Rating 75 opposition in the $35,000 Win a Hilux With Property Brokers (1600m), which will be his first appearance since winning a Rating 65 over the same distance at Riverton nine weeks ago.
That home-track victory was an impressive front-running performance in Heavy10 conditions on March 30, kicking away at the home turn and winning by two lengths with an even bigger margin back to third.
Riviera Rebel’s trainer and part-owner Graham Eade was pleased to see him handle testing ground so successfully in that most recent appearance and has started thinking about the $110,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton on August 3.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how he goes on Sunday,” Eade said. “He hasn’t had a race since March, but he doesn’t take much to get him fit, so I think he’s ready. I’m happy with how he’s going leading into the race.
“As far as the rest of the winter goes, a lot is going to depend on what he does this week. If everything keeps going well with him, we’d love to have a look at the Winter Cup. That could be a really nice target to work towards, although it’s a fair way off at the moment.”
Riviera Rebel was a well-beaten fifth in his only start as a two-year-old last season but has been admirably consistent as a three-year-old with two wins and four placings from his eight starts. A maiden win at Riverton on New Year’s Day launched a strong run of summer form that included a third placing behind Aberlour and Quintabelle in the Listed Southland Guineas (1600m) on February 17.
Eade’s other runner at Wingatui on Sunday is Cosy Nook, who gets through heavy ground well and was a last-start placegetter over 2147m at Riverton. The six-year-old Tavistock gelding is entered for the Positive Signs + Print (2200m) and is also the fifth ballot for the Ray Kean – Property Brokers (1600m).
“He’s going well and shouldn’t mind the track this weekend,” Eade said. “He likes Riverton, and Wingatui is quite a similar track in some ways.”