Pakenham trainer Charlotte Littlefield will resist the temptation of chasing bigger prize money interstate with exciting Contributer filly Concord Connie (Contributer) with the intention of securing a Victorian Group One win.

Excitement machine Concord Connie has four weeks work under the belt as she prepares for her return with the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival the ultimate goal.

It would mean bypassing a trip to Sydney for the $10 million Golden Eagle which was recently granted Group One status.

The rising four-year-old has raced on only four occasions, winning her past three starts, the last two at Flemington, her most recent being on May 16.

Littlefield is planning a lowkey start with Concord Connie in a bid to boost her rating ahead of the Spring Carnival.

"She's probably just a touch ahead of schedule so we've probably got a bit of time to sit back and relax a little bit, just take her through gently and not rush her," Littlefield said.

"She had four-and-a-half or five weeks out and she wasn't a horse that loved being out in the paddock.

"She actually loves and thrives off the attention of being in the stable and human interaction.

"She's a unique horse and we enjoy having her back in, that's for sure.

"We'll kick-off in a benchmark race first-up in mid to late September, possibly at Mornington as around that time there is very little benchmark racing in town, so hopefully she can kick-off in a winning way.

"We need to raise those points and providing she has come back well from there we will plot a path to something like the Empire Rose.

"She obviously goes well at Flemington.

"There is the lure of big prize money up in Sydney, but for me it's more important to win a Group One at headquarters down here in Victoria and for the owners too." - NZ Racing Desk

Mentor’s advice still ringing true for Egan

The late Don Couchman had a big impact on Tina Egan’s development as a horsewoman, and the Stratford trainer said she still refers to her former riding master’s advice when making decisions with her horses.

There is one piece of advice that she has particularly lent on with her stakes performer Chajaba (NZ) (Keano), with the nine-year-old gelding having raced in the last four editions of the Listed Opunake Cup (1400m), and it remains the only stakes race he has contested.

“I did my apprenticeship with Don Couchman and he was very good at setting his horses for big races,” Egan said. “He said they will have little niggles everywhere but just keep going forward for that race you have aimed for, and that is what we did.”

Chajaba rewarded Egan with a runner-up result in the Opunake Cup behind Justaskme in 2023 before posting fifth and seventh placings in the last two editions of the race.

Egan had a nervous week getting her charge ready for this year’s running on Saturday, with her gelding involved in a float incident a week prior, but she remembered her former mentor’s advice and pressed on, and her efforts paid off.

“Last week at Hawera (where he placed behind Prioress over 1200m) on the way home he got his leg over the partition (in the float) and I have been battling all week to get that right,” Egan said.

“There was a little bit of nervousness (during the week) but I knew on Friday when I let him go in the paddock, and saw him rearing and bucking, I knew I had him right.”

Chajaba justified that assessment when he put in a top performance, and he looked the winner halfway down the straight, however, he was collared late by the Suzy Gordon-trained pair of Prioress and Turn The Ace to finish third.

Egan was rapt with her gelding’s effort, and she was pleased for Gordon to get the quinella.

“It was exciting,” Egan said. “She (Gordon) is such a neat lady, so good on her. That was awesome for her.”

Six of Chajaba’s eight wins have come at New Plymouth, and Egan said following a short freshen-up he will return to the Taranaki track in a bid to add to that tally.

“He just loves New Plymouth,” she said. “I will give him a week off and he will probably go back to New Plymouth on the 15^th (of August).” - Joshua Smith

Bella Luce wins Oamaru Cup

Riccarton mare Bella Luce (NZ) (Belardo) was victorious in Sunday’s Crombie & Price LTD Oamaru Cup (1600m), and now trainer Lance Robinson is hoping he can attain valuable black-type with the rising eight-year-old.

The daughter of Belardo had come close as a three-year-old when fourth in the Listed Mufhasa Stakes (1400m) for former trainers Shaun and Emma Clotworthy, and Robinson is hopeful she can go at least one better in the Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations 129^th Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday week, with Sunday’s win making her ballot exempt for the mile feature.

She jumped away well on Sunday under apprentice jockey Triston Moodley, who sent her straight to the front. Bella Luce was still full of running at the turn and she held her rivals at bay to win by three-quarters of a length.

“It was a good effort, I am very pleased,” Robinson said. “She is a mare that can sometimes miss the kick a bit and she loves racing up on speed, so once she began well today I was pretty confident that she would be hard to beat.

“It was a good ride by Triston - she began well, led and was just too good for them. It was a good effort.”

While Bella Luce had two lead in runs on the synthetic, Robinson maintains that his mare is better suited to Heavy going, which she will likely meet at Riccarton at the start of next month.

“She is a very good Heavy track horse,” he said. “We only ran her on the synthetic mainly to fit her up for this race and we had nowhere else to go, so we had to run her on the synthetic.

“She has qualified for the Winter Cup now, so we might as well have a crack at that. If she can get a bit of black-type, that is what she is down her for, so that is the main aim.”

Meanwhile, Robinson has welcomed back stakes performer Iron Hawk and Group Two performer Alottago, with both geldings on a path towards the Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) at Riccarton in November.

“Iron Hawk is back in and has done just over a fortnight’s work and we are really happy with him, he looks super,” Robinson said. “At this stage, the TAB Mile is our main focus.

“Alottago came back in on the same day and he is working along really well too. He is bigger and stronger, he is nearly 500 kilos now. He has developed into a beautiful animal and we are really happy with him. The TAB Mile is his goal as well.” - Joshua Smith

Glam win by promising two-year-old

Southland trainer Ebony Turner is excited about the future with her two-year-old filly Glamour Extreme (Extreme Warrior) following her eye-catching debut victory in the John Borrie & Peter Cook (1200m) at Oamaru on Sunday.

From her outside gate in the 14-horse field, the daughter of Extreme Warrior settled midfield for jockey Rohan Mudhoo, who bided his time before asking his charge to improve three wide with 500m to go. Down the home straight, Mudhoo guided Glamour Extreme to the better footing out wide and she bounded away to score a comfortable two-length victory.

While Glamour Extreme had not had a trial prior to her debut, she had impressed in two jump outs, but was unwanted by punters, who let her drift to 28-1 odds, and Turner was pleased to get the win and reward her backers handsomely.

“I am rapt,” Turner said. “She is a cool wee horse.

“I am proud of what she has done and how fast those wee legs can go.

“She had a jump out at Invercargill a couple of months ago and she won that with a leg in the air. She had another jump out at Wingatui just over a month ago and she went down by a nose under a hold.

“I was pretty confident, I knew she has got ability.”

Purchased by Kerri Spence Bloodstock at the 2024 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale for A$6,000, Glamour Extreme was subsequently offered through Highline Thoroughbreds’ 2025 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 2 Yearling Sale draft, but she failed to reach her $22,000 reserve.

Turner was subsequently offered the filly and she jumped at the opportunity.

“Kerry bought her in Australia and she got broken in up north,” Turner said. “Kerry offered me 50 percent in her and I said yes.

“She has come up so quickly and she is so professional, so I thought we would run her as a two-year-old and see how we get on and she has come along in leaps and bounds in the last couple of months.”

Buoyed by the dominance of her debut victory, Turner said she will head home to study the spring programme and map out a plan towards some stakes targets.

“I will have a look to see what is available for her at the Grand National (Carnival) and go from there,” she said. “If there is something I think suits, we will probably go there, and if not, we will look further into the programme and just find something nice for her.

“Off that run I am pretty confident that she will give them a wee shake at stakes level. There are a lot of nice three-year-old races coming up and I am not against having a nudge at the Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m).”

Turner was also pleased with stablemate Penvose Lad’s placing in the Glenmoa Farms LTD River Plate Trophy (1200m).

The five-year-old gelding had been in a purple patch of form prior to his last start at Ashburton where he beat one runner home over 1400m, and Turner was pleased to see him bounce back to form.

“We were stoked with him today,” she said. “Last start left us scratching our heads, so it was good to see him come back fighting with those visor blinkers on today.” - Joshua Smith