Hall of Fame trainer Graeme Rogerson is hoping to see his distinctive red, blue and green colours feature prominently at Te Rapa on both of the next two Saturdays.
Team Rogerson will be represented by three runners at the Hamilton track this weekend. Seven days later, unbeaten two-year-old Domain Ace (NZ) (Swiss Ace) will shoot for his second black-type win in a row in the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes (1400m).
“I think we’ve got a nice team in at Te Rapa tomorrow, and then I’m looking forward to running Domain Ace in the stakes race there next weekend,” Rogerson said. “He’s quite an exciting horse, I really like him.”
Team Rogerson won last year’s edition of the Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes with Solidify (NZ) (Redwood), who kicks off the stable’s Te Rapa contingent this Saturday with a run in the Aon Insurance Brokers 3YO.
The Redwood gelding placed in the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) in late September. After mixed results through the late spring and summer, he has shown promising signs with placings in both of his last two starts including last Saturday’s Gr.3 Championship Stakes (2100m).
“I’m happy with how Solidify is going at the moment,” Rogerson said. “He ran a good, honest race for second in the Championship Stakes the other day. He’s very well and is going into this weekend in good order. He likes Te Rapa, he’s won twice there before, and I’d expect him to be competitive. A bit of the cut out of the track suits him.
“I’m not sure whether he’s a true stayer or if he’s better suited to sticking around a mile. We’ll see how he goes this weekend before working out what we do with him next. We could look at the Rotorua Cup (Listed, 2200m) in a couple of weeks, or we could find some more 1600m races like this for him. We’ll see.”
Zorro’s Revenge (NZ) (Ferrando) will make the second start of his career in Saturday’s Cambridge Raceway 2YO.
A first-crop son of Rogerson’s Group One-performed sprinter Ferrando, Zorro’s Revenge made his debut with a fifth over 1100m at Te Rapa on April 14.
“I quite like him,” Rogerson said. “He was wide without cover the other day and did a few things wrong, but he still hit the line well. I’d expect him to improve.”
Waikato Stud homebred Savacat (NZ) (Savabeel) will shoot for back-to-back Te Rapa wins in Saturday’s Cambridge Equine Hospital (2400m), having won a Rating 65 event over the same course and distance two wweks ago.
“I think she’s a big, strong mare who’s getting better with racing,” Rogerson said. “I just hope the track’s not too wet. If the conditions are similar to the other day, she should be a very good chance again.”
Savacat is a well-related daughter of Savabeel and the stakes-winning mare Donna Cattiva (NZ) (Captain Rio), who is a full-sister to Group One winner Il Quello Veloce (NZ).
