Wingatui trainer Terry Kennedy is looking to take advantage of the good prizemoney on offer at his local meeting on Monday.
The southern horseman will target the RMG Publican’s Cup (1500m) with in-form gelding Jessie’s Rock (NZ) (Road To Rock), who he believes can take home the lion’s share of the $30,000 purse.
The son of Road To Rock has won one and placed in four of his last five starts and he has given Kennedy no reason why he can’t repeat the dose on Monday.
“He has been very consistent of late,” Kennedy said. “He has held his form great and he is racing well. He has probably come of age.
“It’s not an overly strong field, it is worth $30,000 and it is on our backdoor step, so it is a good race for him.”
Jessie’s Rock will jump from barrier one and will benefit from apprentice jockey Joe Kamaruddin’s one-kilogram claim.
“He gets in with 53 kilos, which is going to be a big assist, and he has drawn one, so he will get every opportunity,” Kennedy said.
All going well, Kennedy intends to head south to Riverton with Jessie’s Rock next month to try and take advantage of the good prizemoney on offer ahead of the southern winter downturn.
“He may go to Riverton, there is a good money day there on April 6. Everything going well, he will go there,” he said.
“From November right through until April you usually get them ($30,000 races) twice a month.
“It is good to race down here over that period, it is just when you run in the winter you have got to travel all the way to Christchurch to run for $14,000.
“It will cost you a couple of grand to get there and back and it takes two days, so I won’t race too many over winter.”
Kennedy will line-up half a dozen other horses at Wingatui and he rates Generation Joy in the Edinburgh Realty/Walter Parker Memorial (1600m) and Darci’s Belle in the Temuka Transport (1400m) as two of his better chances.
“Generation Joy is a good chance in the maiden. She has been going some good races in fillies and three-year-old races. She should be hard to beat in the maiden,” he said.
“It was a nice (runner-up) run by Darci Belle last start. The 1400m may be the query but if she can get a soft lead she should kick away over 1400 you would think.”
