John Wheeler has good reasons to be looking forward to his home meeting on Saturday with the Taranaki trainer to be represented by an in-form quartet of runners.
Tsunami, Zeefa Zed and Zivjeli are last-start winners while lightly tried filly Tiger Lily has made an encouraging start to her career and looks on the verge of a breakthrough success.
“They are on top of their games and should all be thereabouts,” Wheeler said.
He is also bullish about ending the current season on a high on Saturday week with his promising filly Jetalal, who has been set for the Listed Phil’s Electrical & Gipsy Caravans Ryder Stakes (1200m) at Otaki.
“I’m planning to run her and I think she should be very competitive in that,” he said.
Jetalal is raced by Wheeler, who bred the youngster, and Taranaki Thoroughbred Racing Chief Executive Officer and long-time friend Carey Hobbs.
The two-year-old has been the only race day runner to date for her sire Ocean Emperor and gave a tidy account of herself when fourth at Rotorua earlier this month.
“She missed the kick a bit and that put her on the back foot and she still went really well,” Wheeler said.
“She didn’t quite know how to pass the other horses I think, but she has since trialled well (at Foxton).”
Ocean Emperor stands at the Weona Park operation of Gary Hennessy, who prepared the son of Zabeel to multiple Group Two victories and also famously trained his sire Ocean Park to win five times at the highest level, including the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m).
Wheeler’s immediate focus though is on the New Plymouth fixture on Saturday and he is expecting all of his stable representatives to be in the hunt.
“They’re all chances and racing well and have trained on since their last starts,” he said.
First cab off the rank will be Tsunami, a daughter of Ocean Park who was co-bred by Weona Park, in the 24/7 Security (1800m) with Kate Hercock to retain the ride after guiding her to victory at Otaki last week.
Shocking mare Zivjeli was also a maiden winner at Otaki and Temyia Taiaroa will be aboard again in the Coastal Agri/De Laval (1400m).
Hercock will also partner Zeefa Zed, who posted his sixth career success at Awapuni, in the Revital Fertiliser Handicap (2000m) and Tiger Lily in the UBP Ltd Maiden (1100m).
A three-year-old Mongolian Khan filly, Tiger Lily has finished third in both of her outings at Rotorua, where she was awkwardly out of the barrier, and at Otaki.
“She is relatively inexperienced and she was a little bit unlucky at Rotorua,” Wheeler said.
“She wasn’t unlucky the other day as she did get to the front and 1100m on Saturday won’t worry her.”