Gingerbread’s (NZ) emergence against the older horses this preparation may cause a rethink of future plans for the promising daughter of Vanbrugh.
Trainer Vicki Prendergast has been pleasantly surprised by her progress and another bold showing in Saturday’s Listed Fasttrack Insurance Oaks Prelude (1800m) at New Plymouth may prompt connections to aim even higher.
“She is a very easy horse to have in the stable, but initially she didn’t show much and I didn’t think that much of her,” Prendergast said.
“That’s why I didn’t nominate for the New Zealand Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m), a late fee is a consideration now, but we’ll see what happens on Saturday first.
“She is just so relaxed and doesn’t do any more than she has to at the track and then she gets to the races and tries really hard. She’s turned out to be much better than I was expecting.”
Gingerbread finished sixth at Taupo in her September debut before a break and was successful first-up at Rotorua before costing herself any chance of victory at Tauranga last month.
“She is quite a promising filly and she ran fourth at her last start and I think she would have won if she hadn’t run off, that was her first start right-handed so I don’t think it was entirely all the horse’s fault,” Prendergast said.
“I’m looking forward to Saturday and I think she probably wants more distance – even when she gallops at the track she’s only just warming up at the line.”
Gingerbread is raced by Waikato dairy farmers Martin and Raewyn Armstrong, who also bred and race stablemate Our Alley Cat (NZ) (Atlante) with Prendergast.
The winner of five races and a multiple Group placegetter, the Atlante five-year-old is currently on the easy list after a last-start seventh in the Gr.2 Westbury Classic (1400m) on Karaka Million night.
Regular rider Sam Weatherley reported to stewards post-race that Our Alley Cat felt indifferent in her action.
“She’s okay and we have had a few soundness issues with her that we are trying to iron out. We’re not sure yet whether she will go to the paddock until next summer or if we get a couple more races out of her,” Prendergast said.
“She bruised a bone in her knee, just from impact I guess and racing on such hard surfaces and we’ve medicated her and rested her. We’re working her quietly to see if she recovers enough to race again before the rains come.”
Meanwhile, barnmate Seafoam (NZ) (Rock ‘n’ Pop) has come through her win at Ellerslie on Sunday in good style.
“She was really good and I’ve always thought an awful lot of her so it was nice to see her live up to that, she’s very fast and I think can go on with it now,” Prendergast said.
“During her last preparation she was never really 100 percent and earlier this prep we wanted to trial her but there weren’t any around so we used her first race as more of a trial really.”
