His Pukekohe trainer, Steven Reid, has decided to concentrate on the $100,000 Easter Cup (3200m) on Saturday week and bypass the Chariots of Fire at Menangle on April 27. Gold Ace would be off the front in the Easter Cup.
"He [Gold Ace] just goes so well at Addington and he is right in the zone so we have decided to go for the Easter Cup and then come home for the Taylor Mile ( April 27 at Alexandra Park) and The Messenger," Reid said.
Gold Ace has remained at Spreydon Lodge, Halswell.
Gold Ace, who had his previous win in the Gold Nugget in Perth late in November, won the Sires' Stakes Final, Flying Stakes (dead-heat with Terror To Love) and New Zealand Derby at Addington last season. He won the Yearling Sales Consolation there as a 2yr-old. Gold Ace has won five of his 11 starts on the track and placed in another two.
Sleepy Tripp won the Easter Cup as a 4yr-old in 2010 the last time the race was run.
He won the New Zealand Derby the previous year.
Escapee, winner of the New Zealand Trotting Oaks, has been entered for the New Zealand Trotting Derby this Friday. A New Zealand Oaks winner has yet to win both races in the the 10 years the Oaks has been run, but the fillies Shezoneoftheboyz (2010) and Shirley Temple (2007) have won the Derby during that period.
Bettor's Fire, the 3yr-old who has won six of his eight starts this season, has been entered for a 3-4win free-for-all on Friday night. The Cran Dalgety-trained Bettor's Fire, who has not raced since he won at Reefton on December 30, won a workout at Rangiora on Saturday in 3.20.9 for 2600m, the last 800 in 59.4.
Bettors Creek and and the unraced 2yr-old Donegal Chokin, stablemates of Bettor's Fire, also won at the workouts.
• Andrew Armour will leave a decision on a driver to trainer Murray Brown when Hokuri Handrail and Lake View clash at Invercargill on Sunday. Armour drove both horses to win at Invercargill last Saturday.
"I leave it to Murray when we have two in a race," Armour, the stable reinsman, said.
"I would think I would be on Hokuri Handrail as I have driven him all the way through."
Lake View has been driven by Adam Sanderson (twice) and Brent Barclay in his wins.
• Contador, winner of three races including a double at the New Zealand Cup meeting in November when trained by Mark Purdon and Grant Payne, is now in the Waiuku stable of Michelle Wallis. Contador has not raced since early December.
