Three-year-old filly Ultimate Habit took an important step toward her tilt at the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Ellerslie on Saturday week with a strong trial win at Te Aroha on Wednesday.
A Tuesday morning trip across to Te Rapa has Cambridge trainer Andrew Forsman in a positive frame of mind with his quartet of feature race candidates at Waikato Thoroughbred Racing headquarters on Saturday.
Robbie Patterson isn’t letting weight and pedigree queries dent his confidence with One Bold Cat ahead of Saturday’s Gr. 3 NZCIS Wellington Cup (3200m).
Brilliant wins at Ellerslie on Sunday by the Andrew Forsman-trained fillies Stromlinien and Chilling Out have set a platform for the TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and 3YO (1600m) back at the Auckland track in two weeks’ time.
A change of tactics that saw promising mare Hinekaha go straight to the front from barrier rise paved the way for her biggest success when she scored a game win in the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa.
Waitak was a class above his rivals in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Ellerslie on Saturday, completing a spring Group One double in the early stages of what might be a career-defining season.
