Prince Alby has seen plenty of New Zealand this season, but he won’t have to travel far to defend his crown in Saturday’s Kennedy Building Riverton Cup (2147m).

A winner of nine races and more than $300,000 in prizemoney, Prince Alby earned a deserved victory in last year’s local feature, form he continued into the new season finishing fourth in the Listed Metropolitan Handicap (2600m) and third in the Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m).

The son of Sacred Falls earned two points in the Southern Cups Bonus Series at Wingatui, which he doubled when finishing third in the Wyndham Cup (2000m).

With limited options leading into Saturday’s contest, his trainer Kelvin Tyler headed north to Trentham, where he completed a two-run campaign with a strong performance into sixth behind Waitak in the Gr.2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2400m).

“I thought it was a good run, the track was probably a bit good for him really and it was a very tidy field, and he ran home nicely,” Tyler said. “I took him up there as there aren’t many options down here for him, so he went as a mate for Freddie (Time).

“He’s travelled back 100 percent, he’s done a fair bit of travelling now so it doesn’t worry him at all. He had a few days off when he came back and I can’t have him any better, the track looks like it’s going to be nice for him so I couldn’t be happier.

“We’ve had a good frost and a beautiful day today (Wednesday), the forecast looks like it’s going to be pretty similar right up to Saturday so I’m picking the track is going to be in the Heavy8 range.”

Prince Alby is well within striking distance to take out the $50,000 bonus attached to the series, with 10 points on offer to the victor of the Riverton Cup. 

Tyler will also be well-represented in the Riverton Rural Transport Francolin Stakes (1400m), with Go Lotte and Albatross entered in the fillies and mares event.

Go Lotte was a winner two-starts back of the Beaumont Cup (1500m), which she nearly replicated when caught late by Exchange at Wingatui on March 28.

“She’s the same every day, she loves what she’s doing and set weights is a great option for her, with her rating points,” Tyler said. “She’s coming in quite strongly, especially with a nice claim on her back.”

A six-year-old by Sacred Falls, Albatross is resuming off a spell, having had the best campaign of her career through the winter and spring last year. Tyler hopes to follow a similar route through the softer surfaces this preparation, where she is particularly effective.

“She’s coming up really well, she had a jump-out a couple of weeks ago and the track will suit her,” he said. “She’s a wet tracker so she would struggle on firmer ground.

“She typically has had a few feet issues, but she’s had no problems this time.

“She’ll probably improve with the run and get out over a bit more ground, but I’m happy with her and she’ll run a nice race. We’ll pick out the wet tracks for her going forward, hopefully we can find enough races as we’re a bit restricted with so many on the synthetic track.”

Tyler’s juveniles will make up a third of the field in the Bupa Care Services Excellency Stakes (1100m), with Fourofus, Four The Moment, Better Shared and Go Thea taking their respective places.

Fourofus is the most experienced of the quartet, having competed at Trentham, Wingatui and Riccarton this season, while Four The Moment and Better Shared ran on debut at the latter last month.

“Our plan initially was to put Fourofus out, so we did that for a couple of weeks, then he was doing really well so we thought we’d get him back and target this race,” Tyler said.

“He’s got a lot of experience now so he knows what it’s about, the firmer tracks were probably tripping him up and they’re going a bit quick for him so he’ll really appreciate a bit of cut in the track I think.

“Four The Moment is a high-quality horse, he won’t want it too heavy but he’s going to be a really nice three-year-old next year, especially up over a mile.

“I’ve put a tongue tie on Better Shared, she did a few things wrong at Riccarton last-start and still ran a good race, so I think she’ll go nicely.”

Go Thea is one of six debut runners in the race, aiming to follow in the footsteps of her dam Excelleration, who won the Listed Gore Guineas (1335m) and Listed Dunedin Guineas (1500m) during a successful career.

“She’s had a couple of nice jump-outs, she’s a really nice filly going forward and won’t mind the wet track,” Tyler said. “She’s out of a very good race mare too.

“We normally go up to Winton, which is just 35 minutes away for jump-outs and we’ve had them every couple of weeks this year, which has been really good. They’ve all had plenty of chances to get educated.

“They are four good chances, so nothing would surprise me really.”

After missing a start in last Saturday’s $350,000 Southern Alps Challenge (1600m) at Riccarton, King Of The Castle will start in the Riverton Butchery Aparima Handicap (1200m) ahead of the Gr.3 Coca-Cola Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m) seven days later.

“I had three on the ballot in the Alps, where there were only eight open-class horses in the field,” Tyler said.  “There was no back-up race for the horses that missed out up there, so King Of The Castle is in the Open 1200 on Saturday, and Master Marko will run on Monday (Open 1400m).

“Otherwise, they wouldn’t have a run before the Canterbury Gold Cup, which they needed.”

With 16 runners at the meeting, Tyler is looking forward to seeing a number line up across the undercard, which may back-up on Monday at the same venue. 

“I’ve got a lot of good runner’s chances, they are big, strong fields and fortunately all of mine have got a run, with quite a few horses on the ballot on Saturday,” he said.

“There is a lot missing out, as is the same at Ashburton on Wednesday. We’re just looking for a fair crack really, whether that be more race-days or more races on the day to cater for the numbers going around in the South Island at the moment.

“I’ve got a couple nominated for the second day, there are possibly three or four there that could back up.”