Te Akau Team in Top Order for Livamol

The Informant reports:

The Caulfield Cup dream may have been washed away for top-class galloper Gingernuts, but the rescheduling of the Livamol Classic at Hastings to this Sunday has set up the possibility of a different transtasman Group One double.

Last season's New Zealand Derby and Rosehill Guineas winner has developed into a formidable four-year-old, and an emphatic win in last month's Windsor Park Plate made the chestnut a hot favourite to win the Livamol in his final start before a tilt at the A$3 million Caulfield Cup this weekend.

But the abandonment of the Livamol meeting two weeks ago due to unsafe Hastings track conditions sent the Iffraaj gelding's connections back to the drawing board. Two runs over 1400 and 1600 metres clearly made for an insufficient Caulfield Cup build-up, and to the disappointment of his legion of owners and fans, the famous 2400-metre handicap was quickly ruled out.

However, a 2000-metre weight-for-age feature at Flemington worth A$2 million has emerged as a silver lining to that cloud.

“The Emirates Stakes is where we'd really like to head with him now,” co-trainer Jamie Richards told The Informant this week. “Obviously he'll have to run well at Hastings this weekend to justify that trip, which we believe he will. We'll get through this race and then pick a path towards Flemington, which would probably involve a flight to Melbourne about 10 days before the race.”

The Emirates Stakes, formerly the Mackinnon, will be run on November 11. That could be a huge day for Richards, senior training partner Stephen Autridge and the Te Akau Racing juggernaut - they also have four of the top six current favourites for the New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton on the same day.

“It's a long time between runs, but I think we've been able to keep them ticking over and get enough work into them.”

The Livamol abandonment a fortnight ago means that by the time Sunday's rescheduled race rolls around, Gingernuts and his stablemate Chance To Dance will have had almost a month between runs. Gingernuts won the Windsor Park Plate on September 23, while Chance To Dance took out the Listed Karaka Classic at Pukekohe a day later.

“It's a long time between runs, but I think we've been able to keep them ticking over and get enough work into them,” Richards said. “They had the trip down to Hastings and back a couple of weeks ago, which was a pretty big day for them.

“They're not big, robust colts, they're more athletic types and they've really just needed maintenance work.”

That maintenance work included a stylish exhibition gallop between races at their home track on Matamata Cup day last Saturday. They were ridden by their Livamol Classic jockeys, with Opie Bosson on Gingernuts and Leith Innes on Chance To Dance. After galloping side-by-side for most of their 1200-metre hitout, Gingernuts strode clear in the last 150 metres. They clocked 1:15.6 for the 1200 metres, with the 1000 in 1:01.5 and the last 600 in 35.1 seconds.

“We're very happy with both of them,” Richards said. “Obviously Gingernuts was particularly sharp in that gallop on Saturday - Chance To Dance is more of a grinding stayer and he showed us exactly what we wanted to see as well.

“They both had a nice, easy gallop this (Tuesday) morning where they both travelled comfortably and went to the line on the bridle.”

Few horses in the Livamol field have racked up as many kilometres in recent weeks as Volkstok'n'barrell, who made the 1120km round trip from his Ruakaka base to Hastings for a close fifth in last month's Windsor Park Plate, then returned for the abandoned Livamol meeting a fortnight ago and will make the journey again this weekend.

Co-trainer and part-owner Donna Logan admits to having nightmares of a repeat of the abandonment scenario, but she is very pleased with the four-time Group One winner's condition heading into Sunday's race.

“He's looking great and we're very, very happy,” she said. “The weather forecast is reasonably promising, so we think we'll be going down there with a really good chance.”

Their confidence received a boost on Tuesday morning when Volkstok'n'barrell produced a sparkling gallop on Ruakaka's inside grass track. He ran 1000 metres in one minute, with the last 600 in a slick 34.4 seconds. The six-year-old was still bouncing as he came off the track, with track rider Glen Perry quipping ‘Ginger-who?'

Another runner who will be suited to improved track conditions is the multiple Group Two winner Mime. The Mastercraftsman mare battled away solidly in the Slow9 track to finish just behind Volkstok'n'barrell in sixth place in the Windsor Park Plate, 3.3 lengths from the winner Gingernuts.

“Mime has been doing really well in the last few weeks,” co-trainer Andrew Forsman said. “Her work's been excellent. The better the track conditions are, the more comfortable she'll be, so we're just hoping that the mainly fine weather forecast for this weekend turns out to be accurate.”

Last year's Australian Oaks winner Sofia Rosa has been served by Savabeel since her last-start 10th in the Windsor Park Plate.

“Everything seems to be good with her heading into this weekend,” trainer Stephen Marsh said. “She galloped on the course proper this (Tuesday) morning and seems really well. Troy (Harris) rode her, he knows her well and he was very happy. Stepping back up to 2000 metres will really suit, and we're expecting her to be hitting the line strongly.”

Close Up has been one of the stars of the carnival, winning the Gr. 1 Tarzino Trophy on the first day before finishing second to Gingernuts in the Windsor Park Plate. He was a late nomination for the Livamol Classic on its original date, only to be scratched due to a bruised heel and a skin irritation. But trainer, co-breeder and part-owner Shelley Hale is satisfied with his recovery and he has rejoined the fray for the rescheduled running.

Nymph Monte was an impressive three-length winner in open handicap company on the second day of the carnival, while locally trained runner Wait A Sec picked up his sixth win in his last eight starts with a last-stride victory in the Egmont Cup at Hawera last weekend.