Matamata trainer Pam Gerard will head to Pukekohe on Saturday to tackle a couple of feature targets with her emerging mares Shoes(NZ) (Derryn) and Reputation(NZ) (Iffraaj), and she is under no illusion about the size of the task ahead of them.
Fresh off her first solo Group One triumph in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) with Savaglee, Gerard will change tack with a pair of rising talents facing sizzling fields, firstly with Shoes in the Gr.3 Haunui Farm Counties Bowl (1100m).
Always a mare she rated, Shoes has come into her own in recent starts, winning three on the bounce, including over subsequent winner Twain at Tauranga. Gerard has been delighted with the daughter of Derryn’s recent progress but recognises the challenge the likes of Crocetti and Babylon Berlin present.
“She’s just gaining confidence all the time, but I have to admit, I’m not so confident when I saw the noms come out and the field,” Gerard said.
“There are four Group One horses in there and we may be asking a bit much of her at this stage. Sometimes this race can come up not as strong, but it’s a super field this weekend so I’m not sure we’ve quite made the right decision. We’ll have to see.”
Shoes is often setting the pace in her races, but Gerard is unsure whether that will be the case on Saturday where she will be ridden by Kelly Myers.
“You can’t really do much different with her race pattern, but there is a lot of speed in the race, so it’s a really tricky one,” she said.
“She’s coming out of 75 grade, it would’ve been nice to give her a little run in an Open without too much pressure on. She will be up to them at some point, whether it’s Saturday, I’m not sure.”
Her older stablemate, Reputation, has been lightly raced with just nine starts under belt, but secured a bid in the Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) with a commanding win first-up at Te Rapa.
“She was super, she’s really a staying mare and we gave her the run because we missed another at Te Rapa before that,” Gerard said.
“I was actually quite surprised to see how well she put them away, that’s not usually her pattern of race or what she’s meant to be doing.”
The Iffraaj five-year-old is contending a number of elite-level horses in the fillies and mares’ contest, but with a black-type focus this campaign, Gerard is happy to give her the opportunity.
“Obviously it’s very tough at the even weights with some very good hoses in this race, so it’s another hard decision,” she said.
“I’m not sure she’s quite up to them at 1400, but the way she won the other day, I’m welcoming her to prove me wrong.
“We’re in there and we’ll have a go, but the main thing for her this season is getting black-type. I don’t know where, but she’s going super.”
Gerard’s other representative at Pukekohe will be Pericles, the winner of last season’s Listed Uncle Remus Stakes (1200m), who contends with a horror outside draw in the Stella Artois 1500 Championship Qualifier (1400m).
“A very tough gate, he hasn’t had a lot of luck with a big weight and that gate,” Gerard said.
“There’s not a lot of things going in our favour, but he’s a horse with a lot of ability.”
Meanwhile, Gerard’s star colt Savaglee is enjoying a short break at The Oaks Stud following his Guineas success, with plenty of discussion to come around his summer campaign.
“He flew home on the Monday and has been back at the Oaks having a little rest,” Gerard said.
“He’ll be back in next week, Rick (Williams, The Oaks Stud General Manager) is keeping a good eye on him.
“Nothing is confirmed yet for him, we will sit down with Rick and work that out. There is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then, I’m just looking forward to getting him back in the stable and seeing how he’s come through it.
“He’ll have to keep going in the right direction to be competitive in Australia or wherever he goes, but once he comes back and we assess him, we’ll finalise things.”
In winning the $650,000 classic, the son of Savabeel earned Canterbury Jockey Club’s slot in the $4.5 million NZB Kiwi (1600m) in March, but no deal has been finalised at this stage.
“It’s really up to Rick and Dick Karreman (owner), I’ll just do my bit in training the horse and they can point me in the right direction,” Gerard said.
“It is a huge honour to be offered the spot, but we have to remember he has stallion potential, and that race doesn’t have any black-type attached to it that can enhance his career and value. Whether he needs that or not, I’m not sure.”
