Progressive four-year-old Little Bit Of Love (NZ) (Time Test) showed he won’t be fazed by a further rise in class when he completed a winning hattrick at Te Rapa on Saturday.
No closer than three off the fence in midfield throughout the rating 75 1400m contest, the son of Time Test was still travelling comfortably approaching the home turn for apprentice Ngakau Hailey.
Inclined to lay in as he made his run down the outer in the straight, Little Bit Of Love still had plenty up his sleeve as he rounded up the leaders and hit the line a comfortable one and a half-length winner from Urban Myth who fought bravely to shade Cindy Falls and Sulabella for the runner-up position.
Co-trainer Andrew Scott, who prepares the gelding with training partner Lance O’Sullivan, was quick to praise the efforts of Hailey who was having his first ride aboard the horse.
“That was a nice ride as he is not an easy horse,” Scott said.
“He (Hailey) judged it (the ride) well and when the horse lost his way with fifty yards to go, he put the stick away and balanced him up.
“He is a young man who came in and rode a lot of work for us the other day and he is a horseman so good on him.”
Scott also believes there was plenty more in store for his charge.
“He keeps gaining confidence and thriving,” he said.
“He is a horse we train out of the paddock and is not the prettiest, but he is athletic and sound and is a horse that was given a lot of time and not raced at three.
“It’s a good case of giving a horse time and they go on.
“That won’t be his last win as that was a hearty rating 75 and he is going the right way.”
Bred by Graham and Helen Bax, Little Bit of Love had his first start at Matamata back in December last year and has gone on to win four of his seven starts for his large group of owners under their One Second Syndicate banner.
He is out of the O’Reilly mare Little Bit Irish and is the younger half-brother of Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) runner-up Cork (NZ) (Complacent), His extended family includes Gr.1 International Stakes (2000m) winner Mission Critical along with multiple French stakes winner Wajd, the dam of the 1998 champion stayer of Great Britain Nedawi.
