Tuhikaramea barn hold strong hand at Cambridge
Graeme and Debbie Rogerson and Clinton Isdale will be well-represented at Waikato Thoroughbred Racing’s annual RDA Raceday at Cambridge on Wednesday, with the trainers set to line-up a dozen runners at the midweek meeting.
They are particularly upbeat about their chances in the Manning Investments (2000m) where they will line-up a trio of contenders, including Tarzador, Novak and Solidify, however, the latter may be saved for Ellerslie on Saturday.
Tarzador (NZ) (Tarzino) heads into the race in winning form, having won over 1700m at Awapuni Synthetic late last month after placing at Cambridge, and Isdale is hopeful she can put in a similar performance.
“She won really well,” Isdale said. “It was a tough run, she got taken on for the majority of the race but toughed it out nicely. She will be thereabouts.”
Novak (NZ) (El Roca) has placed in his last two starts, including a runner-up performance behind stablemate Skymax at Cambridge a fortnight ago, and Isdale is expecting another bold effort.
“He always runs a nice race,” said Isdale, who also owns the gelding. “He took off way too early last start and battled on well. He wasn’t going to go with Skymax, she is probably a bit too classy for synthetic racing.”
The stable is currently weighing up whether to line-up Group Two performer Solidify (NZ) (Redwood) on Wednesday, but if he does start, he will get the benefit of apprentice jockey Tom Wigram’s four-kilogram claim, bringing his impost down to 56.5kg.
“He seemed to handle the surface alright (in his only polytrack start earlier this month), he was just impeded by the big weight,” Isdale said.
“We are 50/50 about going there with him, we may nominate him for Auckland and go there.
“He is not an overly big horse, so if he does run, the claim will assist.”
Isdale is also looking forward to lining up Group One performer Domain Ace (NZ) (Swiss Ace) in the Cambridge Equine Hospital (1550m), and he expects to see plenty of improvement from the son of Swiss Ace from his first run on the surface earlier this month, with his trainers having varied his work and added some gear.
“You will see a different horse with blinkers on,” Isdale said. “He has been to the beach and he has been doing a bit of jumping as well.”
Isdale has also labelled Impressive Belle (Press Statement) in the Manning Investments (970m), Brutal Reality (Brutal) in the Group One Turf Bar (2000m), and Melkor (NZ) (Telperion) in the TCL Earthworks (2000m) as some of the stables other leading chances at the meeting.
“Impressive Belle is coming back from a long layoff, she had a wind op,” Isdale said. “She has had two nice enough trials without any pressure put on her. If she is anywhere near her best she should be going very close in that race.
“Brutal Reality’s previous run on the poly was good, but she got impeded at Palmy and nearly fell. If she can run up to her previous start on the poly, she will be extremely hard to beat.
“Melkor is also a nice chance. He went well the other day and got held up for a little bit.”
The Cambridge RDA meeting, which is now in its sixth year, raises funds for the local Riding for the Disabled branch. The meeting combines live racing with fundraising activities, and a gold coin donation on entry is encouraged. The first race is set to jump at 11:25am.
