Matamata Tuesday Trackwork

Dennis Ryan casts his eye over trackwork today with no fog yippee!! Thanks Stacey for the fab pictures too!

Twist Of Fate and Just Juliet drew attention to their weekend prospects when they galloped boldly together at Matamata this morning.

Working on a good sand, Twist Of Fate (R Jones) was travelling well alongside Just Juliet (K Hillis) at the end of a smart 1000m in 1:04.3 and a final 600m in 36.8.

The Stephen Autridge-trained Twist Of Fate appears to have made good progress since his maiden win at his third start late last month and will step up in grade at Ruakaka on Saturday. Stablemate Just Juliet needs to improve on what she has shown to date and gets another chance on her home track on Friday.

Umizoomi (R Jones) and Hidden Secrets (Blair) looked sharp for Ruakaka when cutting out 1000m in 1:04 and 600m in 36.9. Rosenellis (Blair) shaped up well for the local meeting as she strode through the last 1200m of her work in 1:22, the final 1000m in 1:06.2 and 600m in a tidy 37.6. She didn't have much luck when fifth at her last start and may be helped by any improvement in track conditions.

Master Guru (M Brosnan), another racing on Friday, was timed over the last 1000m of his work in 1:09.4 and 6000m in 39.2. He is another that would appreciate better ground than he has raced on lately. Sophisticate (A Jones) rounded off her work well after covering 1200m in 1:22.5, 1000m in 1:07.3 and 600m in 38.7.

Carmody (Grylls) prepared for Matamata with 1200m in 1:23 and 600m in 37.8, while Ruakaka entry Cask King (Coleman) left 1000m behind in 1:04.5 and 600m in 37.1.

On the all-weather track Traveller (K Price) and Beauty Ahead (Dowling) prepared for their respective Ruakaka and Matamata engagements with a solid 1200m in 1:16.4, 1000m in 1:02.2 and 600m in 36.3.

Traveller, who shaped up very promisingly earlier in the season, has looked sharp in recent trials and will be an interesting runner fresh-up over 1600 metres on the weekend. Beauty Ahead starts in the three-year-old maiden 1600 on Friday, for which his connections have paid a stakes top-up.

Queen Boudicca (R Jones) was well contained in the early stages of her work before reeling off a final 600m in 38.2.

High profile members of the Ken and Bev Kelso team got through attractive work as they continued their preparations for spring racing. Xanadu (Coleman) looked very bright as she finished off striding work with 800m in 52.5 and 600m in 38.4. She will follow a similar early routine to last year, with her first scheduled start the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa in mid-August, a fortnight before the Makfi Challenge Stakes.

Fix (K Jones) also appeared to enjoy her work over 800m in 53.2 and 600m in 38.3, while Bounding (K Jones) was kept to 59.8 and 43.4 over the same distance. All three quality females are coming to hand well.

From the same stable Happy Guys (K Jones) rolled into his work, covering his last 1000m in 1:15.2 and 600m in 41.2, while Wisecrack (K Jones) also pleased when he strode over the last 1000m of his work in 1:08.4 and 600m in 38.4.

The only gallop recorded on the course proper, where the going was slow 25 metres out, was Kayleen (Richards), who was not after time over 800m in 1:01.2 and 600m in 44.6. She disappointed at her last start but looked promising beforehand and could easily bounce back on Friday.

Back on the sand, other work included Kirramosa (Hepi) and My Mestari (Roff) together over 600m in 37.8, Rivertaine Coup (Grylls) and Dubai Shuffle (Sapsworth) 38.5, and Rapid Gain (Stack) and Alert (Richards) 57.4 and 42.6.

Sneaky Feelings (Richards), who returns to the scene of her maiden win on Friday, was restricted to 1200m in 1:30.6 and 600m in 46.2, while Arnold (Wratten) was also let off with light work over 1200m in 1:28.5 and 600m in 42.7.

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