Promising Sweynesse mare Petty’s Legacy (NZ) will spearhead a strong team for Riccarton trainers Shane Kennedy and Anna Furlong at their home-track meeting on Friday.
The training partnership will produce four runners at the twilight meeting but most interest will centre on three-win four-year-old Petty’s Legacy in the Jon Snow @ Clearview Park 1400.
In three runs this preparation, Petty’s Legacy has won back-to-back Rating 65 1400m races before a last-start fourth at Riccarton on a slow track on the final day of New Zealand Cup week when stepping up to Rating 74 company.
“We’re really happy with her. She’s just improved with everything she’s done,” Furlong said.
“She went a really bold race over Cup week stepping up in grade and distance. She’s had a bit of a freshen-up since then, hence why we’re dropping her back to 1400m but I’d still expect her to be competitive in this.
“She wasn’t a big fan of the track that day. There was rain and the track turned a bit yuck but even through the line, she was doing pretty good work, which makes us think she might even get over more than a mile.”
Raced by the Southern Ness Syndicate, Petty’s Legacy was originally trained at Wingatui by Claire Anderton but transferred to the Kennedy-Furlong stable on Anderton’s advice that she would be better placed for opportunities in Canterbury racing there.
As the only regular speed influence in a small field, Petty’s Legacy looks well placed on Friday.
“The rail is out so you’re not going to want to be too far behind them on the day anyway but she’ll probably end up in the lead and hopefully she can get away with as soft a run as she can, then the rest will be up to her,” Furlong said.
“Harbourside is probably the horse to beat but we’d like to think they’re pretty evenly-matched. We’re pretty happy with where she’s at.”
Kennedy and Furlong’s other runners at the meeting are Kudos de Sothys (NZ) (Darci Brahma), Scala Sancta (NZ) (Sacred Falls) and Laphroaig (NZ) (Thewayyouare).
“Kudos de Sothys looked like he showed a turn of foot in his first couple of starts but he’s turned a bit one-paced after that so we’re stepping up to the mile and we’ve done a bit of jumping with him this week to give him something to think about so hopefully he’s ready to put his best foot forward,” Furlong said.
“We’re really happy with Scala Sancta’s last run at Riccarton. She had a bit of a dicky start to her campaign. She had a bit of a niggly foot for quite a while and that took a long time to sort itself out so her fitness is definitely better now. She went well over Cup week and we expect more of the same on Friday.
“Laphroaig hasn’t come up as well as we’d hoped though he looks as well as he ever has and is working well. We’ve put the blinkers back on and he went way too hard down south last start. But he loves the mile and he goes well at Riccarton so we’re expecting a better run.”
Meanwhile, Furlong said the stable’s Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) winner from Riccarton last month, Grace’s Secret (NZ) (Vadamos), had been turned out for a summer spell.
“She was just feeling her shins. She’s a growing baby so we’ve just decided to send her for a well-deserved spell and let the shins come right,” Furlong said.
“She’ll have a decent spell, at least a couple of months off. There’s a chance we could look at giving her a late two-year-old campaign. She’s pretty classy. It wasn’t much of a two-year-old field she beat last start but she’s proven she’s got the quality there.
“We think she’ll really blossom with the break. She’s got a bit of substance to her. She was doing a lot of sleeping after the Cup week race so she’s definitely growing and it’s the right time to give her a spell while the good grass is around.
“She’s back down with the owners (Clayview Farm Partnership’s Dennis and Sally Mullally) at Alexandra and they’ve just got the most beautiful property. She’s super relaxed there and she’ll do really well.”
