Valuable filly Bonny Lass (NZ) (Super Easy) is in prime order for Saturday’s Gr.3 Inglis Sales Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa where she will bid to add to her burgeoning record.
The daughter of Super Easy proved herself a match for the best juveniles last season and it’s been more of the same this term with another series of strong showings against the leading three-year-olds.
“She’s all good and as genuine as they come. She’s won four from nine, Group One placed a couple of times and a Group Two winner so she’s done us proud,” said Graham Richardson, who trains in partnership with Rogan Norvall.
Bonny Lass was successful in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes last term and finished third in both the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) and Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1200m) before a break.
She ran fourth in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) when resuming and subsequently won twice at Ellerslie, once against older opposition, and most recently finished fourth in the Listed Mufhasa Stakes (1400m) off an interrupted run.
The filly subsequently suffered a slight setback, but has fully recovered and is set for another bold showing on Saturday following a recent exhibition gallop.
“She was going to trial, but had a stone bruise and missed a bit of work. Te Rapa were decent enough to allow us to gallop her between races,” Richardson said.
“She is a pretty clean-winded horse and she worked up extremely well yesterday. Craig Grylls will ride her and he knows her very well and she’s ready to do her best again.”
Richardson has also identified a long-term goal for Bonny Lass.
“I would like to give her a rest and then get her ready to head toward the Railway (Gr.1, 1200m), that’s the type of horse I think she is,” Richardson said.
The stable will also be represented on Saturday by promising Vancouver filly Canadian Girl (NZ) in the AON Insurance Brokers 3YO (1600m), first-starter Channel Surfer (NZ) (Derryn) in the Decise Electrical & Control 2YO (1200m) and North Of Havana (NZ) (Makfi) in the Cambridge Equine Hospital Handicap (1200m).
“I’ll add blinkers to Canadian Girl, she lacks a bit of concentration. Her last run at Rotorua was okay, I thought she might have finished off a little better so blinkers should help her,” Richardson said.
From the first crop of Derryn, Channel Surfer placed at the Avondale trials ahead of his debut performance.
“He’s a lovely-actioned horse, he doesn’t know much and thought we’d go to the races rather than the trials again and he’s a really nice horse,” Richardson said.
North Of Havana is a two-time winner and the Makfi mare drew attention to her weekend prospects with a sound last-start third.
“Her run at Rotorua was extremely good. She stumbled at the start and had to use her up to go forward, that was the riding instructions, and the horse that led up stopped and she kept going,” Richardson said.
“Her work has been good and she’s another one that could be looking at something like the Railway next year.”
The stable has been going well this season with 17 winners on the board, highlighted by Tiptronic’s (NZ) (O’Reilly) success in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) and Carolina Reaper’s (NZ) (Vespa) victory in last weekend’s Gr.3 Easter Handicap (1600m).
“Tiptronic is out and will probably come back a little earlier and we’ll have a go at the last leg of the Triple Crown at Hastings (Gr.1 Livamol Classic, 2000m),” Richardson said.
“He’s a rising nine-year-old and it will more than likely be his last season. We’re all very proud of him he’s such a cool horse.
“Carolina Reaper is going for a spell and she’s obviously a very good mare and we’ve always had a lot of time for her. She was very impressive the other day.”
