Cambridge trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray are hoping to spend plenty of time on the road this spring with a pair of The Oaks Stud’s representatives.
The training partnership earned a winning treble across the weekend, with two of those carrying the familiar Oaks silks, headlined by Tajana’s gutsy victory in the Gr.3 Sunline Vase (1400m) at Ellerslie on Saturday.
The $150,000 contest was pinned as a match race between the Darci Brahma filly and rising star Lollapalooza, and it proved to be just that, with the former coming out on top by a nose.
Ritchie said Tajana had pulled up well from the race, with their focus now turning to the Gr.2 Windsor Park Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) back at Ellerslie on October 18.
“We’ve got the luxury at our stable of having a quarter-acre paddock per horse, so she could go and stand under a willow tree and have mates all around her,” he said. “They stay that much more supple and they tend to eat up when they’re outside, and the recovery is fantastic.
“She’s eaten up since the race and we’ve got a good window of four weeks before the Soliloquy Stakes, which is lovely, because at the 1400m, she needs to be on the fresh side.”
Ritchie had questioned whether the seven furlongs would be too sharp for his filly, and while he is still of that belief, the Soliloquy is a necessary step towards the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm 53rd New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November, where she holds equal-favouritism with Lollapalooza.
“I still think 1400 is nowhere near her optimum trip because she relaxes so well, but you’ve got to take your stepping stones through the fillies races before you can get over further,” he said.
“I think the key with keeping her fresh is keeping that speed in her legs, which helps her let down very quickly over the 1400m. As she gets further into her campaign, I’m sure 1400m will be too short.”
Those white and blue silks were to the fore again at Te Aroha on Sunday, with stablemate Tempest Moon breaking maiden status in the Waitoa Haulage Maiden (2200m).
The daughter of Turn Me Loose found her sweet spot at the 2200m, keeping up a strong gallop in the straight to hold off History Maker for amateur rider Abhay Seesa.
Ritchie had been waiting for a suitable trip for the five-year-old, who now he hopes to qualify for the A$304,000 Jericho Cup (4600m), a race the stable won in 2023 with Nassak Diamond.
“She’s a real dour staying mare, she reminds me a lot of Nassak Diamond who we won the Jericho Cup with in the same colours a couple of years ago,” he said.
“The distance races in the lower grades have never really been far enough for her, but now that she can get to 2200m-plus, and maybe even that 3000m race down in Christchurch, if she can win that it’s qualifying race for the Jericho Cup.
“The Jericho is a fantastic trip to be part of, I would advise anyone with a horse capable of going to go and enjoy the week. They lay it on thick and it’s a great tribute to the veterans and the light infantry through town.”
The southern qualifier will be run at Riccarton on October 25, with the winner earning an automatic place in the iconic Warrnambool feature on November 30.
By Jess de Lautour, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
