Smolda impresses

Smolda sent a message to his stablemates and his other rivals with his dominant Methven Cup win yesterday.

The 8yr-old has been steadily  improving  this season as he seeks to go one better than his second to Arden Rooney in last year’s New Zealand Cup.

Plenty of the talk is about the cup credentials of his younger stablemates, Lazarus and Have Faith In Me, but Smolda’s win — after moving round to sit parked with a lap to go before taking the lead at the 1000m — was a reminder he is very much a force to be reckoned with on the second Tuesday in November.

Yesterday’s group 3 pace was a 3000m affair and driver Tim Williams appeared to to leave plenty in Smolda’s tank as he tucked the whip under his arm in the shadows of the post.

Seel The Deal threatened briefly out wide and finished

well for second while Titan Banner will improve with his third on his season debut.

● Roxburgh trainers Geoff and Jude Knight brought up their 200th win when The Charging Moa beat stablemate Atom Hanover in the claimers mobile pace at Gore yesterday.

The couple have been in a training partnership for the last eight seasons after Geoff  trained 36 winners on his own account in 11 seasons of training with smaller numbers.

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