Riccarton trainer Lance Robinson left Phar Lap Raceway a happy man on Sunday following Adannaya’s win in the Dianne Goodeve Open (1200m).
Under a cool ride from jockey Courtney Barnes, Adannaya (NZ) (Niagara) wasn’t drawn into the early speed, opting instead to settle midfield. She was presented perfectly at the turn and reeled in the leaders to hit the lead with 200m to go and held off the late challenge by Aorangi Assassin to win by half a neck.
“I was very pleased with the effort. She got a beautiful run in the race and Courtney rode her really well,” Robinson said.
It was the second consecutive win for the daughter of Niagara, and Robinson said he will now look for her next winter target.
“She will get a lot more confidence out of today. She is probably looking for a wee bit further now. I think 1400m suits her a little bit better,” he said.
“I haven’t got any set plans with her at this stage. We are just going to get her home and we will find another race for her somewhere.
“I just wanted to get today over and done with first and make a plan for her afterwards.”
Robinson was also pleased with the runner-up performance of stablemate Establishment (NZ) (Remind) in the Bob Goodeve Memorial (2200m).
“Establishment went super,” he said.
“He has come back into form and I really liked how he pressed to the line, he was very strong today.
“I think the slightly better track helped him out a wee bit. He struck a really heavy track at Dunedin the other day and I don’t think he was that happy in it.
“He does have heavy track form, but sometimes those older horses find the better tracks a lot nicer to run on.
“He is on target for the National meeting.”
