Local trainer Ken Rae and his daughter Krystal Williams-Tuhoro enjoyed another outstanding day on their local Ruakaka track on Saturday where they bagged a winning treble.
Follow Your Dreams (NZ) (Contributer) kicked off proceedings when he returned to the form that saw him win two of his first three starts as a juvenile with a dominant performance in a rating 75 1600m contest before speedy filly Deploy (NZ) (Sepoy) made it three wins from her last four starts with a two and a half- length win in a three-year-old 1200m event.
Progressive intermediate grade galloper Van Diesel (NZ) (Vanbrugh) rounded out the day when he raced clear late in the piece to win over 1300m and provide his mentors with plenty of ammunition to suggest he has a future over more ground.
Rae was delighted with the results as he wasn’t sure just how the team would ultimately perform despite having worked well leading into the meeting.
“I expected them to go well but you don’t often win three in a day, so if we could have got just the one win I would have been satisfied,” he said.
“I thought Deploy was very good as there were one or two in her race with big reputations and she dealt to them all.
“We were actually going to give her a spell after her last run where she was below par when running eighth but two days after that one, she was kicking and performing like she hadn’t even had a run.
“Maybe a wetter track tripped her up that day, but she certainly didn’t look like getting beaten this time.
“Jasmine (Fawcett) rode her like the best horse in the race and she delivered.
“She is feeling pretty good about herself this morning (Sunday) as she ate everything last night and is as happy as hell.
“I think she will have one more run in this campaign, most likely in the Northland Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.3, 1200m) in a fortnight then she can have a break before we take her south for the Cup Carnival at Riccarton in November.”
Rae has always had faith in four-year-old Contributer gelding Follow Your Dreams and was relieved to see him back in winning form.
“Follow Your Dreams was a pretty good juvenile but things didn’t really go right for him during his three-year-old season,” he said.
“He was better when he ran third last time and I was keen to step him up to a mile.
“I also think the 3kg claim he got with Kesley Hannan on him made a difference as well.
“He is no superstar but he does have ability and we have managed to get on top of a few niggles he has been dealing with,
“There isn’t anything for him in a fortnight and I won’t run him in the mud as he just doesn’t cope so he can keep ticking over as we wait for the races to come and then he can go back to Riccarton in November as well.
“Van Diesel was also very good and it was a lovely ride by Tegan Newman, who gets on really well with him.
“He is also a complete duffer in the wet but we want to get him up over more ground so we will just pick and choose our targets with him.”
Rae was also pleased with the performances of Irish Girl (NZ) (El Roca) and Zelenski (NZ) (Shocking) who ran fourth and fifth respectively behind class mare Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) in the Kerikeri Cup (1100m).
“That was probably one of the best fields we’ve had at Ruakaka so there was no disgrace in finishing where they did behind the first three home,” Rae said.
“They were both dropping back from a mile at their last start and they made up really good ground in the straight to be beaten less than three lengths.
“Zelenski may go to Riccarton as well, while I think we will give Irish Girl one more and then put her away for a spell.
“She is part-owned by some people in Ireland who are coming to New Zealand at Christmas time so it would be good to have her running then.
“I think a race like the White Robe Lodge (Gr.3, 1600m) at Wingatui would be ideal for her as she is suited at weight-for-age, so that is her likely main target.”
