Dual Group One-winning mare La Crique (NZ) (Vadamos) bypassed the spring features this season, and looking to the summer period, Katrina and Simon Alexander are excited to get their star mare back on track at Tauranga on Saturday.
Now a six-year-old, La Crique has had just 20 starts, with eight of those coming in her highly successful three-year-old term. Since then, the Alexanders have navigated a series of hoof issues with the mare, and despite this, she has still managed to pick up the Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) and Gr.1 Otaki-Māori WFA Classic (1600m).
Another interrupted campaign last season finished on a deserved high when La Crique won the A$500,000 Magic Millions National Classic (1600m) at Eagle Farm in June, and following the race, she enjoyed the warmer climes of Queensland.
“She’s going really well, she had a spell in Queensland after racing and went into pre-training there, so she got a good base of fitness,” Katrina Alexander said.
“She’s come back here and it’s quite nice to have her on the backburner for a little bit, keeping her strong.
“It was a conscious decision (to miss the spring), also aided by the fact that we had a mucked-up prep last season and she ended up going over to Brisbane later in the carnival than we had intended, which therefore put her back for her spelling period.
“Getting her ready for the spring, both here or in Australia, was never logistically going to be the best thing for her.
“We were also very conscious of the fact that we didn’t want her going around on wet training surfaces, she cops a wet track but getting her ready to race in the winter months has been the hardest thing in the past.
“I’m pleased to say at this stage that we don’t have any issues with her, she’s coming along very happily and is a fit and well horse.”
The daughter of Vadamos will line-up as a clear top-weight in the Financial Services 1300 on Saturday, carrying 60.5kg with Ngakau Hailey’s three-kilogram claim.
“She had an exhibition gallop at Ellerslie, albeit just a fairly casual one, and has worked well since then,” Alexander said.
“She’s more than ready to have a step out, we’re going in without a trial this time which we haven’t done before. We pinpointed this race thinking that there wouldn’t be a big field, which traditionally it hasn’t been, but with the abandonment at Te Rapa, a lot of the open class horses have transferred over to this race.
“She has drawn well (2) and probably does need to go around, we were always conscious of the fact that she was going to carry a bit of weight. So, there is a couple of factors with a do we or don’t we, but at this stage, she will be lining up.
“She’s lost a little bit of her barrier brilliance, I do put that down to the foot issues she’s had. She just takes that little bit longer to warm up in the running, so it will be very interesting to see her in a very fresh state in how she goes about things on Saturday, also with Ngakau who has never ridden her before.
“We don’t want to knock the stuffing out of her in the run, she’s got a nice draw if she can use it well and not have to do too much.”
Beyond the weekend’s assignment, La Crique will be set for the Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) on November 23, with the Champion Middle-Distance Series races then on the radar.
“She’ll go straight into the Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders, then we’ve got a couple of races earmarked for her prior to Christmas,” Alexander said.
“As we know with horses of this age, and when they have had a few issues, it’s very much race by race, but it’s lucrative for her if she can take part in some of these middle-distance series races with the bonuses up. Those are the types of races we will be looking at for her this side of Christmas.”
A trip back to Australia is also a possibility for La Crique, with Alexander indicating she would likely only compete at distances beyond a mile.
“She’ll let us know, we’ve seen her perform here up to a mile and because of her issues, we’ve never really got up beyond that 2000m mark terribly often,” she said.
“We are conscious that if and when we go back to Australia, we need to be up over that distance to be competitive. The sprinter-milers are too strong and powerful for her now, and we’re usually going at a time of her prep when she’s a bit seasoned and is looking for further.
“It’ll be quite exciting to see her get over further distance.”
Joining La Crique at the Tauranga meeting is promising stayer Si Exquis (NZ) (Vadamos), who is looking to continue a string of consistent performances this campaign in the Bayleys Mount Maunganui 2100. After breaking her maiden over a mile at Hawera, she stepped up in distance with plenty of merit to finish a half-length off A Mandarin last start.
“I thought it was a very brave effort at Pukekohe, it was a big jump up from a mile to 2200m that day on a fairly quick turnaround,” Alexander said.
“It was more driven by what racing was available for her because she is a lovely staying mare in the making, and we were looking to get up over ground.
“She’s trained on really nicely since, she’s got a horrible draw and we’re still in two minds to how we deal with that, which we will discuss with Kelly (Myers, jockey). I’m very happy with her, she’s well-suited at that distance and probably needs more mileage, she’s getting fitter all the time.
“I’m quite excited to see her progress, we do think she’s a nice cups horse in the making.”
