Former northerners Loftys Gift and Medina are starting to leave their mark in the south, with the pair securing a winning double for trainer Robert Dennis at Wingatui on Sunday.
Medina was just having her third start for Dennis in the Liquorland Mosgiel 65 1400m, having previously been trained by his former employer Andrew Forsman in Cambridge.
The American Pharoah mare jumped away well but couldn’t find the front and was parked out three-wide for much of the race. She finally found the parked position outside Choux Macher with 600m to go and showed her tenacity down the straight when going head-to-head with her rival, and got the bob at the post to win by half a head.
Dennis knew the four-year-old was better than her two previous midfield finishes for him and was pleased to see her fulfil her potential on Sunday.
“I know this horse well from the Forsman Stable and I know that she has got good ability,” he said. “She has had a couple of unlucky runs in her first and second starts for me.
“Donovan (Cooper, jockey) certainly took luck out of the equation. It was very tough to sit three-wide on speed and fight off what I think is a handy enough horse in Choux Macher.”
Later on the card Dennis secured the double courtesy of Loftys Gift in the Otago Daily Times 65 2200m.
Previously trained in Cambridge by Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray, the five-year-old mare has now had three starts for Dennis for two wins.
The daughter of Ghibellines was set to race in Christchurch last week, but Dennis was pleased he held off and targeted Sunday’s Wingatui meeting instead.
“She was entered at Riccarton last week and I thought she would go a good race there, but we opted to wait another week and it paid dividends,” he said.
“It was a good effort back in the field and it was a great finish from her, which was good to see.”
Dennis has been pleased with what he has seen from Loftys Gift in the last couple of months and believes she can quickly add to her win tally.
“I haven’t had her for too long, it would be only 10 weeks, and we have only given her three starts,” he said. “She won the start after backing up two days later, so she seems pretty tough and versatile.
“I haven’t mapped out a plan for her yet. She is up in grade now and it becomes a little trickier to find the right race. She handles a wet track so she should be going through into the winter a bit. I think she has a bright future.”
With Southland racing set to go into winter hibernation, Ascot Park-based Dennis said travelling to Otago or Canterbury proves no concern.
“The last meeting in Southland is the 12th of May so we will have to travel up to Otago and Canterbury, but it is par for the course,” he said. “I have gone through the calendar and there are enough options there to justify racing horses through the winter.”
Dennis was also pleased to pick up a runner-up result at the meeting with the Waikato Stud-bred and raced Missoni in the Grand Casino Maiden 1600m.
“She is very nice filly by Ocean Park who has come a long way this prep,” he said. “She is going out for a spell now and I think she will do a good job for us and the Waikato team next season.”
Meanwhile, looking ahead to weekend racing, Dennis will make the trek north to Riccarton on Saturday with a pair of runners, headlined by impressive last start winner Great Time in the Listed Berkley Stud Champagne Stakes (1200m).
“She has ticked along very nicely since her five-length win at Riverton. I think she is a very smart horse and all is well with her,” Dennis said.
“Sacred Dream will drop back to 1800m from 2600m last time. I think she should be very competitive.”
