Canterbury raider Wize Act looks set to deliver another pleasant surprise for trainer Bevan Wilson at Wingatui today.
The 4yr-old looks perfectly placed to add to her incredible record on heavy tracks in race 7.
Wize Act has started six times on heavy ground for five wins and a second and it looks almost certain she will race on a heavy track today. The thought of his charge producing such strong statistics on heavy tracks would have been hard to fathom before Wize Act started her racing career, Wilson said. Both her dam, Sound Decision, and grand-dam, Sounds Like Spring, never even set foot on heavy surfaces.
"We are a little bit surprised she has done so well on the heavy going, being out of a Volksraad mare; we weren’t expecting that," Wilson said.
How long Wize Act can keep her impressive strike rate intact could depend on two factors.
Now that she has landed in open company, Wilson is wary of the effect bigger weights could have on her form, he said.That will not be an issue just yet. She is set to carry 54kg today.
That gives Wize Act a weight advantage on all her main rivals: Luke (57.5kg), Raise You Ten (55.5kg) and Koxinga (54.5kg).
Koxinga defeated Wize Act when the pair met at Riccarton last month, but Wize Act was unable to be fully extended when she ran out of room in the straight.
Luke finished fourth when he met Wize Act, when she won her next race at Riccarton.
With no apprentice claims in today’s event, he meets her half a kilo worse off today. Raise You Ten showed his quality when third in the listed Great Easter Stakes early last month.
The horse is untested on heavy ground in his nine-start career, but has handled slow tracks very well.
Exactly what kind of track Wize Act strikes tomorrow also could affect her ability to keep her strong heavy-track statistics intact. Many of her wins have come on loose heavy tracks but with the Metservice forecasting good weather leading into today’s meeting, she could face a puggy, holding surface.
"She has done it on the looser tracks. It could be a bit different [today]," Wilson said.
Wize Act will be ridden by Chris Johnson, who spent much of May out of the saddle through suspension.
He scored a returning win with Croyde at Timaru yesterday.
