Top class mare Qali Al Farrasha added a second stakes victory to her impressive career record when she burst clear in the concluding stages to win the Gr.3 Grangewilliam Stud Taranaki Breeders Stakes (1400m) with consummate ease.
Savabeel’s emerging daughter Top Shelf is rated a Group One contender in waiting by Te Akau and, in the meantime, is primed to post the first black-type victory of her career on her home turf on Saturday.
Trainer Mark Walker enjoyed good success on both sides of the Tasman last Saturday, headed by the narrow Gr.1 Sangster Stakes (1200m) victory of Geegees Mistruth.
Te Akau’s Matamata-based trainer Sam Bergerson is happy to have four runners engaged in the last two Group One features of the season, but what doesn’t please him is a worsening weather forecast ahead of Trentham on Saturday.
Te Akau Racing strengthened their representation in next month’s $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) following the announcement of their Group One winner La Dorada as ‘The People’s Horse’.
Trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson are hoping a return to the right-handed way of going will help Qali Al Farrasha bounce back to winning form at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.
Last season’s champion two-year-old La Dorada will be out to prove her ability against her Australian counterparts on Friday night when she contests the Gr.3 Scarborough Stakes (1200m) at The Valley.
