Aoife Brennan has had a whirlwind trip campaigning Andrew Forsman’s team in Melbourne this spring, and her mother, Lauren Brennan, is hoping her Cambridge team is enough to entice her back home next week.
The 17-year-old horsewoman has been the travelling foreperson for Forsman’s Australian raiding party, where the stable has experienced the highs of winning the Gr.2 Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m) with She’s Licketysplit, the Gr.3 Moonga Stakes (1400m) with Aegon, and the Listed Super Impose Stakes (1800m) and Gr.3 Caulfield Classic (2000m) with Mr Maestro.
“She (Aoife) has really gone above and beyond expectations,” Lauren Brennan said.
“Both myself and Micky (father) are very proud of her. She is very mature for a 17-year-old and she has handled herself very well and has really enjoyed herself.
“She even had lunch with Gai Waterhouse the other day, so she is really reaping the rewards and is having a great time. Hopefully we get her back next week.”
Brennan will have two runners at Te Rapa on Saturday to aid her cause, including Packing Rockstar in the Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1200m).
The seven-year-old gelding ran third first-up in the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) at Rotorua last month and Brennan expects that he will take plenty of improvement from that run.
“He takes a run or two to get to his peak fitness because he is such a gross horse, but I was still very happy with his performance, especially coming from behind in the field as usually he is more of a front-running horse,” she said.
The 99-rated gelding will carry topweight of 60kg this weekend, seven kilograms more than the majority of the field, and while Brennan said her horse can carry the weight, it is still a concern.
“He is at that stage where he is going to carry topweight in those open handicaps, but there are not too many options for him,” she said.
“He is a big, strong horse, and even though he can carry that weight easy enough, he is still giving away six or seven kilograms to everyone else. But that’s the way it is, so we have to deal with it.”
Packing Rockstar will be ridden by Craig Zackey who arrived in New Zealand this week to continue his riding career after a successful grounding in South Africa.
“He has got a good reputation from South Africa. I have watched a few of his races and he seems to ride well,” Brennan said.
Brennan is also utilising the services of another expat South African jockey in Warren Kennedy to partner I Can Fly in the NZB Ready To Run Sale 16/17 November 1400.
“Hasn’t he got off to a good start? It is good for New Zealand racing to have these jockeys over and hopefully they can get the job done,” she said.
He Can Fly won on debut last month, much to the surprise of his trainer, and Brennan is hoping for a repeat performance for the gelding that is earmarked to do his future racing in Hong Kong.
“Out of the three we had in that day he was the one we thought wouldn’t win,” Brennan said.
“With having the track firm, we thought he may have appreciated more give in the ground, but he seemed to handle it well. I couldn’t be happier with his run, he dug in deep and it was a tight finish.
“He will end up going to Hong Kong at some stage. It would be nice to get a few runs out of him, I think he might be a promising horse in the future.”
