Underrated mare Tikki (NZ) (Per Incanto) added to her burgeoning career record when she claimed the feature race for the open handicap speedsters at Riccarton on Saturday, the Commodore Hotel Open Sprint (1200m).
The Steven Prince-trained five-year-old had made her mark on tracks with a little give in them around her home province of Otago but Prince wasn’t afraid to bring her to Christchurch to tackle the best on a Good 4 surface after she had finished third in the Listed Pegasus Stakes (1000m) at the venue in November last year.
With leading rider Tina Comignaghi aboard, fresh from an overseas break to visit family and friends, Tikki jumped well before working forward to sit just behind pacemakers Rhonda Wood (NZ) (Redwood) and South Of Houston (Deep Field).
Comignaghi pushed the go button at the 350m and she joined South Of Houston before beating off her challenge with 100m to run, as The Radiant One (NZ) (Darci Brahma) closed strongly to take third behind a game South Of Houston who clung on for second.
Prince has a high opinion of the mare and has some lofty ambitions for her in her next campaign.
“She just keeps stepping up for us and I don’t think she is finished yet although we are going to put her in the paddock now as she has come a long way in this prep,” Prince said.
“She had to do plenty of work to get handy today and then she was left in front, but she really knuckled down and Tina said she just has a fantastic will to win.
“She ran her last 600m in just over 33 seconds so she has the ability there.
“We will give her a good spell and then we will get her back to get ready for races like the Pegasus (Listed, 1000m) and Stewards Stakes (Listed, 1200m) back here in November.”
Tikki is raced by a group of Otago mates including Craig Hunter who purchased the Per Incanto filly online from New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2020 National Weanling Sale on gavelhouse.com during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Under his pseudonym Wagonwheel, Hunter went to $11,000 to secure the half-sister to stakes performer Princeton Spirit (NZ) (Nadeem), who has now won seven of her 16 starts and just under $173,000 in prizemoney.
