For the first time in a decade the Christmas and New Year racing action in the South Island will be missing the presence of trainer Ken Rae.
Rae and daughter Krystal Williams-Tuhoro will still have a number of runners engaged over the next three weeks, including five at the Kurow meeting on Thursday, however the man himself is back home at Ruakaka due to circumstances beyond his control.
“I sent Krystal and one of my staff south with our team but had intended to join them at Kurow later this week,” Rae said.
“That’s not going to happen now as we are short-staffed at home due to illness and also one of my track riders has had a fall, so she is out for a few days.
“I ended up riding seven at trackwork this morning (Tuesday), so I will be staying at home for the foreseeable future until I can get the staffing somewhere back to normal.”
While Rae won’t be on track at Kurow he is hoping he can cheer home a winner or two from the five horses he has engaged, including PGG Wrightson Kurow Cup (1400m) candidate Zelenski.
“He (Zelenski) has been a little disappointing as I thought he was going to be a top horse based on what he did as a two and three-year-old,” Rae said.
“He won his second start and then ran third behind Catalyst in a stakes race on his home track before finishing fifth to the same horse in the Two Thousand Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) at Riccarton.
“He’s run a lot of placings since then but hasn’t managed to win another race.
“I would dearly love to win the Kurow Cup with him as he went close last year when he ran third to Carson River, so if he could go a couple better it would be a fitting result.”
Rae is also hoping ever consistent gelding The Buffer can finally snap a string of runner-up finishes when he contests a rating 65 1200m contest in race three.
“We call him The Bluffer as he plenty of tricks up his sleeve and you definitely wouldn’t want to play cards with him,” Rae said.
“He just can’t get his head in front when it matters and has run second now in five races in a row.
“Hopefully he can get that elusive win this time as he deserves it.
“I’ve also got a couple of maidens in (On My Shoulders and Bodyguard) who need to get their points up so they can get a few more starts under their belts, so I’m hopeful rather than confident there.
“Our best chance might just be Apatchee Power in the last race as he went a beauty first up and will appreciate a wet track if we get the rain that has been forecast.”