Southerner Master Marko made a strong showing in his Kiwi return last month and Kelvin Tyler isn’t ruling out a feature target dependent upon his performance in Sunday’s Crombie & Price Ltd Oamaru Cup (1600m).  

The Contributer five-year-old was a profitable bargain buy for the Riverton horseman and moved onto Australia after strong performances in three-year-old classic races in 2022. Four wins later, Master Marko returned to his homeland and put in a bold effort at Ashburton first-up, firing home late into second behind Balzano.  

“I expected a good run as he is a good horse, and I was really happy with him,” Tyler said.  

“He’s come back really well, he was ready to go so it was just a matter of settling in which he’s done really well. He’s a good eater and nothing seems to worry him. 

“He’s gone forward since that run, we’ve put the visor blinkers on to keep him concentrating up to a mile so I think he’ll be a good chance with 52 kilos.”  

Among the lesser-rated horses of the field, Master Marko will carry the lightweight of apprentice Ciel Butler and would greatly enhance his chances of lining up the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) with a success in Sunday’s contest.  

“If he was lucky enough to win tomorrow, I would consider putting in a late nom for the Winter Cup,” Tyler said.  

“I’ve probably got five or six earmarked to go up there (Christchurch), Albatross will be another who is right on the cusp of getting into that Winter Cup field.  

“I’ve elected to keep her fresh instead of bringing her up to Oamaru this week, she did a nice bit of work this morning and seems really well so we may be able to have three in that field if things fall into place.”  

The third horse in Winter Cup contention is Go Lotte, a reliable member of Tyler’s barn for several seasons and she will make her final preparation in the Oamaru Cup with Ruvanesh Muniandy in the saddle.  

“She’s just a darling wee girl, she’s as honest as the day is long,” Tyler said.  

“She’ll run another nice race but doesn’t want it too heavy, so hopefully it won’t get too heavy up there for her. I can’t fault her work and she looks amazing.  

“She’s around the top eight qualified for the Winter Cup so she’ll definitely go, hopefully the rain stays away up there too. 

“She’s no champion, she’s probably just a notch below the really good open class horses but she’s super honest so hopefully she can sneak some black-type at some stage.”  

The youngest of Tyler’s contingent at Oamaru is Mamaea, a two-year-old filly who lines up with race experience on her side in the Bevan Crombie Memorial (1200m).  

Of her five juvenile starts, Mamaea has recorded four top-four finishes including a close-up fourth in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton in May.  

“She’s probably just been doing a little bit too much at the start in her last couple of races, we’ll look to ride her a little bit more patiently tomorrow,” Tyler said.  

“She’s thriving off her racing, she’s been up for a while and two-year-olds typically don’t take that much racing but she’s doing really well.  

“She likes the wet tracks as well so we’ve kept ticking her over and she’ll get her chance tomorrow so hopefully she can get the job done.”  

Lily Sutherland has been booked for the ride aboard the Ribchester filly, while she will also partner Classic Diva in the Thank You Oamaru Jockey Club Supporters (1400m).  

“She hasn’t raced in a while, so she’s enjoyed a nice freshen-up, she’ll go a nice tidy race and improve from the outing,” Tyler said.  

“We’ll look at taking her to Riccarton over National Week so if she can finish in the top five, that’ll be a pass mark for her.”  

Back at Riverton, Tyler has rarely kept his team at a minimum over the winter period in past years but has found little opportunity forcing many to wait for the new season.  

“It’s really tough on the lower half of the South Island, we’ve got no racing for our winter horses,” he said.  

“Typically, I would have 15-20 horses in work at the moment but I’ve had six or seven as there just isn’t the races for them.  

“I know a lot of Southern trainers are in the same boat so hopefully in the next year or two we can get something back on track.”