Recording could be right on the mark for his assignment at
Kurow tomorrow. Photo by Tayler Strong.
A good blow-out at Gore last week was just ideal for
Recording going into his open handicap at Kurow tomorrow.
The chestnut Stravinsky gelding was third at Gore on Sunday,
1.1 lengths behind Infallible in the open sprint over 1335m,
and trainer Steven Prince said everything pointed towards an
improvement this week.
''It was a very good run the other day - he actually blew a
bit when he pulled up,'' Prince said.
''He hadn't had a run for a month and he takes a bit of
racing, but he went pretty good the other day, I thought.''
The barrier gods have not been kind to Recording, drawing the
outside gate in the 12-horse field, and Prince is hoping
jockey Toni Direen, who recovered quickly from a fall at
Timaru yesterday to continue her riding duties, can work some
magic.
''We'll probably ride him midfield and hopefully she can get
over [closer to the rail] on him and a couple of kilos off
him will help too.''
Direen's 2kg apprentice claim brings her down to 53kg for the
ride.
Prince is saddling up two other runners at Kurow and a good
draw of one should play into the hands of Pinot Express in
race five.
A clever ride from Ashley Frye on Petty Lane at Ascot Park on
December 15 gave Pinot Express almost no hope of winning the
rating 85 mile, especially after drawing barrier 12 and
giving jockey Chris Johnson few options.
''She got too far back from the draw,'' Prince said.
''Even Chris said that when he came back in - he was further
back than he wanted to be, and he didn't have any luck
(between the 800m and 400m) and he didn't have much room in
the straight, so he said it was a good run, really.''
Pinot Express unwound nicely to win at Winton on November 21,
despite losing a shoe during the running, and Prince said new
jockey Jamie Bullard would be able to use the draw to stay
close to the leaders.
''The draw will be good - she races up there [near the front]
a wee bit, so it'll be fine.''
Lemon Honey's eighth at Ascot Park is better than the figure
indicates, finishing off the race well to finish 2.8 lengths
off the winner Sucre. Direen takes over the ride on the Thorn
Park mare from Ross Doherty, who got stuck out wide at Ascot
Park.
Additional information for weekend meetings.-
Auckland RC
Scratchings:
Race 8: Lady Hawk, Peacefuleasyfeelin
Weather, overcast; track, dead6; rail, out 3m
Cambridge-Te Awamutu HRC
Scratchings:
Race 4: God Blessed
Race 5: El Su Son
Race 7: Motu Claudia Rose
Race 8: County Down
Race 10: Anvil Beirnes
Banks Peninsula TC
Scratchings:
Race 7: Westburn Courage
Winton HRC
Scratchings:
Race 1: Gentle Georgia
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.