Trainer Andrew Forsman will be keeping an eye on both sides of the Tasman on Saturday, with the Cambridge horseman set to have runners at both New Zealand venues, as well as Caulfield.
Turn The Ace, The Finnster and Russian Satire will all run at Te Rapa, with the former on trial for upcoming black-type targets when he steps out in the JF Grylls Memorial Classic (1400m) after an unplaced first-up effort at Pukekohe.
“It was a very deep track and he couldn’t get his legs out of it. He can handle most wet tracks, but fresh up he just found it a bit too tough,” Forsman said.
Turn The Ace holds a nomination for the Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations Winter Cup (1600m) and his immediate future will be decided after the weekend.
“It’s an option, that’s for sure, and if he was able to win on Saturday we could look at the Opunake Cup (Listed, 1400m) as a lead-up, but he is still yet to prove himself in open class,” Forsman said.
A resuming fifth last month, The Finnster will tackle the Dunstan Horsefeeds Mile (1600m) while Russian Satire runs in the Mark Sanders Memorial (1400m).
“The Finnster will improve a lot with his first start and only had one soft trial going into it and Russian Satire will have blinkers on,” Forsman said.
“Hopefully, that sharpens her up as she hit a bit of a flat spot last start (when fifth) in a race we thought she would be hard to beat and left herself a little bit too much to do.”
Two-year-old Bella Ragazza will head to Awapuni in a bid to turn her form around in the Marton Business House 2YO (1100m) following an unplaced effort in the Listed Castletown Stakes (1200m).
“She was disappointing on a sticky Wanganui track and we want to make sure she’s right, we want to have a go at the Ryder Stakes (Listed, 1200m) later in the month,” Forsman said.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Saint Bathans finished fifth following a break over 1400m at Caulfield and will return there for the BM84 Handicap (1700m) on Saturday.
“I think he will be competitive, although 1700m is a niggly distance second-up and he will improve, and third-up he will be spot on,” Forsman said.