Trainer Danny Crozier has lofty ambitions with Imptee next season following his debut win in the Bain McCall Memorial Two-Year-Old (1000m) at Riccarton on Saturday, however, overseas interest may curtail those plans.
The son of Impending jumped well and was prominent throughout, showing his class in the concluding stages when running out a three-length victor over the Robbie Patterson-trained Read About, with a further 1-1/2 lengths back to Ten Shillings in third.
Crozier was rapt to get the win, particularly for his predominantly harness racing focussed owners, including top trainer Chrissie Dalgety.
“We have a special affinity with him, we broke him in and he is a lovely horse. He probably should have won his first start (when third), but he won well the other day,” Crozier said.
“My partner, Rachel Deegan, works at Addington (Raceway) and she got together with Chrissie Dalgety, Angela Boyd and a few others. They are a great bunch of people and this is the first galloper they have ever had. They got a huge kick out of the win the other day.”
Crozier said the exciting thing is that he believes the best is yet to come for the gelding who came on his radar as a younger horse in Australia.
“The penny hasn’t even dropped with him yet,” he said. “What he is doing at the moment is on pure ability. He has got a brain and is a lovely horse. I think he has got the makings of a lovely three-year-old and hopefully he can be a Guineas horse later on.”
While Crozier holds ambitions of targeting the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November with Imptee, his future may lie offshore if a deal can be brokered with interested parties from Hong Kong.
“I will give him two or three weeks in the paddock, he has been in work for a little while,” he said.
“There have been a few nibbles for him from Hong Kong. There is a bit of water to go under the bridge, but the Guineas will be plan b if he doesn’t go (to Hong Kong).”
Saturday’s victory was Crozier’s eighth of the season and his highest tally in eight seasons.
“We only work 10 horses, it is a more hands-on stable,” he said. “We do our best.”
