Verry Flash will continue to show his diverse skillset when he heads to Waverley on Sunday to contest the Wanganui Steel Formers Waverley Cup (2000m).
The winner of 10 races on the flat, including the Listed Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m), Verry Flash won his maiden hurdle at Te Rapa last week in impressive fashion and trainer Kevin Myers has elected to back him up on the flat seven days later.
Part-owner Nick Bishara has been enjoying watching the success of his gelding, who he trained to seven victories before transferring him to Myers’ care.
“I am just over the moon with Verry Flash, he has been a great horse. It was a terrific win last week,” Bishara said.
“Kevin does a great job of keeping his mind on the job and I think the hurdle has sharpened him up for the flat race again.
“I thought he got in with a good weight on Sunday and the three-kilo claim (courtesy of apprentice jockey Faye Lazet) will help.
“There are some nice horses in there, but he does look the one to beat on his best form.
Sunday’s run might be Verry Flash’s last this preparation, but Bishara said he will leave that up to Myers.
“It would probably be the end of the prep, but that is up to Kevin, I am not sure what he has got in-mind,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bishara is disappointed he had to scratch promising three-year-old Texas from Ruakaka on Saturday due to sickness, and he said that has put his aspirations of a tilt at the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November in doubt.
“Unfortunately, Texas’ blood is not 100 percent right so he has been scratched from Ruakaka and it puts in jeopardy going to the 2000 Guineas,” Bishara said.
“I was really looking forward to stepping him up to 1400m. But that’s horses – one day you are winning races at Te Rapa as an owner and the next you are scratching one of your own runners.”
A $40,000 purchase out of Windsor Park’s 2021 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale draft, Texas has plenty of options ahead of him.
“He is Karaka Million nominated and there are some nice three-year-old miles around at Pukekohe,” Bishara said.
“We will just take stock in 10 days time and start again.”
Bishara will still head north to Ruakaka this weekend where he will line-up Rising Dream in the Harcourts Bream Bay (1600m).
The Sweynesse gelding ran third first-up at the Northland track and returned a month later to run eighth, but Bishara said he can be forgiven for that result.
“Forget that he went around up there last start. He played up in the barriers and missed away,” Bishara said.
“The instructions were to jump and lead or to be on the pace and there was a slow pace in the race, and he got trapped four back the fence and pulled his block off, so he was never a hope from there.”