A pair of last-start winners loom as leading chances for Shane Kennedy and Anna Furlong in Saturday’s Listed Dunedin City Motors Dunedin Guineas (1500m) at Wingatui – a race the Riccarton trainers have won twice in the last six years.
Kennedy and Furlong won the Dunedin Guineas with Excelleration in 2018, then struck again with Showemhowitsdone in 2021.
This year the pair will venture south with a two-pronged attack made up of Quintabelle and Warning Signal.
The talented fillies both contested the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) on their home track in November, where Quintabelle finished midfield and Warning Signal at the tail after a wide run.
In their only appearances since then, Quintabelle and Warning Signal scored stylish Rating 65 victories over 1400m and 1200m respectively on January 18.
“They were both really good in those last-start wins,” Furlong said. “We were originally planning to trial Warning Signal and then run her in the Gore Guineas (Listed, 1335m), but she just had a little bit of a foot niggle that held her up and forced us to change tack. She put that behind her and came out and won very nicely at Riccarton.
“Quintabelle went into her resuming run without a trial as well and was quite fresh that day. It was a good performance and she’s taken good improvement from it. We’re very happy with how both fillies are tracking.”
Warning Signal will be ridden by Jasmine Fawcett and will jump from gate nine, while Quintabelle’s jockey Joe Doyle faces a challenging task from the extreme outside gate of 14.
“It’s a bit of a tricky draw, but we’re hoping it might not be too much of an issue for her – especially with the prospect of a bit of rain around,” Furlong said. “It may end up being where the better ground is.”
Both Quintabelle and Warning Signal came out of Book 2 of Karaka 2022, where Embellish filly Quintabelle was bought for just $25,000 and U S Navy Flag’s daughter Warning Signal was passed in.
Kennedy and Furlong returned to Karaka this week and added two Book 1 yearlings to their ranks for $100,000 each.
“We’re really happy with the yearlings we managed to come away with,” Furlong said. “We loved the Tivaci filly, so we were thrilled that we got her, and the Dundeel colt is a lovely athletic type as well. We’re looking forward to having both of them in the stable.”