“I am extremely lucky to be in the position I am in with Te Akau and getting the opportunity to train these lovely horses. You want it to go well but you take the horses there fit and well and just hope they get their chance.”
Melbourne Cup-winning hoop Mark Zahra will make his New Zealand riding debut when joining a starry line-up of Australian jockeys attending the TAB Karaka Millions meeting on Saturday at Ellerslie.
“He's very green. We never expected him to race this early to be honest. He's surprised us, but I think he's got a bright future when he starts thinking about being a racehorse.”
The Andrew Forsman-trained Mustang Valley was on a plane back to New Zealand on Sunday after an excellent run for fifth in the Gr.1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick.
Cambridge trainer Andrew Forsman has won two previous editions of the Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) but will be looking to snare his first in a solo capacity when he heads to Randwick on Saturday.
