John Bell came close to picking up a lucrative prize during the week at the Cambridge Synthetic, and he will now switch his focus over the fences on Sunday with rising jumping star Helena Baby.
Spanish Lad represented the local horseman in the Richard Bright Memorial (1500m) on Wednesday after two comfortable victories on the surface at his last two appearances. Among a tidy line-up of seasoned gallopers, the son of Shocking held his own, flying late into second behind the well-performed Monza.
Bell was pleased with the gelding having just his seventh start, with plenty to look forward to as the turf tracks begin to improve through the spring.
“We got a bit trapped coming down the back behind a wall of horses and pushed wide, but he’s run home beautifully, and it was a nice field,” he said.
“He’s proving that he’s got some ability and a stride or two over the line he was in front.
“I’m looking forward to the better tracks through the spring and summer months because he’s proved that he can’t handle the wet tracks.”
Further down the road at Rotorua, Bell’s quartet of representatives is headed by Helena Baby in the Team Wealleans Hurdle (3000m), having transitioned seamlessly into his jumping role after being a multiple-stakes winner on the flat.
A pair of wins at Te Aroha in maiden and open company has set the son of Guillotine on a path towards the Great Northern Hurdle (4200m) in September, however, navigating a path to the feature is proving difficult for Bell.
“He’s an athlete, but it’s been difficult with the changing of venues being available to set him for a race,” he said.
“With the likes of him, Ata Rangi and Denzel, they’ve been racing on the flat to get them in some sort of shape for their mission on Sunday.
“After Sunday, I’m not quite sure where we will go with Te Aroha being out, but they hopefully are fit enough to do well.”
Ata Rangi commenced his career over fences with a creditable run in behind two classy types in Dictation and Semper Magico at Hastings, and lines up among the key hopes in the Seeka Limited Hurdle (3000m).
“He’s a courageous horse, he’s never afraid of anything and he does from time to time attack his fences,” Bell said.
“We don’t have any problems with our horses jumping, it’s just getting them to the fences correctly which they’ve been taught over a number of years. Hopefully that can come together on Sunday for him.”
Stablemate Denzel will be on jumping debut in the other maiden event, the Rotorua & BOP Life Members Hurdle (3000m), with jockey Nick Downs a key figure in the development of the Redwood gelding.
“He’s a stunning looking animal with a pedigree to stay, hopefully it won’t be too wet for him, but he jumps nicely,” Bell said.
“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into him, Nick Downs and my team at home have done a tremendous job with these jobs and put a lot of time and effort into all of them.
“Nick’s been a great help and he’s riding all four of ours.”
With solid efforts over hurdles to his credit, Curious George will try his hand over the bigger fences in the K.T Myers Racing Stables Steeplechase (3500m), with the potential for a heavy track the only query.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t handle the wet track and was pulled up at Te Rapa last time, so he’s over the steeples where they may just go that little bit slower,” Bell said.
“He’s more of a firm track horse than the other three.”