Livamol locked in for Tuxedo ahead of Australian hit-and-run mission
Shaune Ritchie could have an exciting few weeks ahead of him on both sides of the Tasman.
The Cambridge trainer has confirmed last weekend’s Gr.1 Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) runner-up Tuxedo (NZ) (Tivaci) will press on to next week’s Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Hastings before heading to Australia to chase the A$2 million on offer in the Gr.3 Five Diamonds (1800m) at Rosehill on November 7.
Tuxedo was involved in a thrilling three-way finish at Hastings last weekend, and while disappointed to come off second-best to Waitak (NZ) (Proisir), Ritchie was proud of his gelding’s effort and is looking forward to trying to turn the tables next weekend.
“He has come through fantastic, his coat has fully come out with that run, that trip has brought him right on,” Ritchie said.
“He probably didn’t get the rub of the green in the race, but having said that, he went past Waitak and Waitak was the warrior that he is and got back and beat him on the line.
“It is hard to say that we had poor luck, but it is going to be a hell of a race again next time. She’s A Dealer (Ace High) is right there with them as well, so it is good that we have got three good horses to be able to hang the New Zealand racing hat on at weight-for-age level.”
Ritchie believes the Five Diamonds is the perfect race to round out Tuxedo’s spring campaign.
“If her performs up to scratch in the Livamol, I think it is four weeks through to the Five Diamonds, which is over 1800m at Rosehill,” he said. “I think it is the perfect trip for him and it is a A$2 million race. It is a Group Three, but that category is pretty much irrelevant to us, money is more attractive than the Group status for a horse like him.
“We have been sparingly racing him each campaign, he has only had four or five starts each spring and autumn. This (Five Diamonds) will be his fourth run and we will get him back to New Zealand and do a similar thing in the autumn with him.”
Meanwhile, Ritchie’s attention is currently on racing this weekend where his Group One performer Tajana (NZ) (Darci Brahma) will bid to add to her stakes haul in the Gr.3 Grangewilliam Stud Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) at Hawera on Saturday.
The daughter of Darci Brahma placed first-up over 1300m at Ellerslie last month, and Ritchie said she derived plenty of benefit from that outing.
“She has had a month between runs and just peaked on her run last time,” he said. “I felt she went through to win. Sam McNab rode her and got up the inside there and just flatlined that last few hundred.
“She hasn’t missed a day’s work and she is galloping like she’s significantly improved too. She will need to, it is a good version of the race this year.
“If the fence holds up from barrier one, and she can just get a spot or two handier than she normally does, a bit like Waitak the other day, that would be advantageous. But she does have a bit of a habit being sluggish out of the gates, so hopefully she can use that barrier a little bit more than what she has in the past.”
Ritchie is also set to line-up a few promising debutants on Saturday, including well-bred filly Crown of Perfume in the Taranaki Steelformers 1600 at Hawera.
“She is beautifully bred,” Ritchie said. “She is a Wootton Bassett out of a dual Oaks-winning mare in Faint Perfume, and Bart Cummings trained her. I saw her win a VRC Oaks (Gr.1, 2500m) and she also won the AJC Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m).
“As it looks, she is almost certainly going to be a staying filly, which is why we are going to a mile first-up. We don’t do it very often, but she is the type of filly that I doubt will be competitive over 1200 or 1400m, so why not?
“She is going to improve with experience in the run, but I am expecting her to run a cheeky race.”
At Matamata, Hellbent gelding Kumara Straight will also make his debut in the Colchester Engineering Ltd 3YO (1400m).
“Kumara Straight sat three wide in his trial at Ellerslie and he was very strong,” Ritchie said. “He has come up in a very good maiden field, so it won’t be easy.”
