Summer has arrived, and Shelley Hale is hoping so too will Blue Sky At Night’s form, as she gets set to defend her crown in Saturday’s Gr.3 SkyCity Hamilton Waikato Cup (2400m) at Te Rapa.

Her victory in last year’s running kicked off a lucrative summer, which culminated in victory in the Gr.3 Avondale Cup (2400m), a double Hale is hoping to repeat.

“We will be trying hard,” the Cambridge trainer said.

While pegged as a wet-tracker earlier in her career, Hale said Blue Sky At Night has shed that tag over the last couple of seasons.

“Earlier in her career people could have suggested that she was possibly a wet-tracker, but she had a good summer last year so fingers-crossed it is similar this year,” she said.

While the Shamexpress mare has been unplaced in all three of her starts this preparation, Hale said they have been luckless runs, and she is hoping to take luck out of the equation on Saturday after drawing ideally in barrier four.

“She is on a similar plan to last season, we are hitting it fourth-up,” Hale said. “She is racing well but has been lacking a bit of luck. We hope it is our turn to have the luck on our side this time.

“She won’t have to do any work at all (from barrier four) to take up a nice position hopefully, and she gets a nice, light weight (53kg), she is still in a very good place in the handicaps.”

While Blue Sky At Night holds a nomination for next month’s Gr.3 NZ Campus Of Innovation & Sport Wellington Cup (3200m), Hale said she will likely bypass the Trentham feature in favour of focussing on the Avondale Cup a few weeks later.

“I don’t think she stayed the two miles in the Auckland Cup (Gr.2, 3200m) when we tried her so we will probably go to the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (Gr.3, 2400m) and then she can have a little freshen before having one run into the Avondale Cup and see if we can hit that one again too.”

Meanwhile, Hale will head to Tauranga on Friday with Lofty Manuel, a full-sister to Blue Sky At Night’s Saturday race rival Gigi.

The four-year-old daughter of Ghibellines will be first-up after a couple of trials and Hale is looking forward to testing her over a mile for the first time in the Kiwi Bus Builders Maiden 1600.

“I am looking forward to stretching her out over a little further,” Hale said. “She has been getting too far off the speed and rattling home well, so hopefully she can jump away a little bit better and get a bit closer to the chocolates.

“She goes well, she has just got to put it all together.”