Scrutinize Steps Up Derby Campaign

The Informant reports:

The Ellerslie Christmas carnival has already seen one classy colt make a big impression carrying the Te Akau tangerine, and on New Year's day Scrutinize will try to emulate his stablemate in the Gr. 2 The Hits Great Northern Guineas.

New Zealand 2000 Guineas' winner Xtravagant lived up to his favouritism with a comfortable victory on Boxing Day and tomorrow it will be the turn of Scrutinize - a beautifully bred colt who has been held in similarly high regard throughout his career.

The son of Savabeel and dual Group One winner Legs has won three of his five starts and also finished second to Amarula in the Gr. 2 Hawke's Bay Guineas. Scrutinize resumed with an effortless win at Awapuni on December 19, cruising to victory by two and a quarter lengths with his ears pricked.

“We're hoping Scrutinize will be our Derby horse this season, that's what David Ellis was thinking when he bought him,” co-trainer Jamie Richards told The Informant. “We're happy with how he's going so far.

“He travelled home really well after Awapuni and has eaten and worked well since then. Kris Shailer looks after him and rides most of his work and is really happy with him. He's spot on for the Guineas on Friday.”

Scrutinize's pedigree and running style strongly suggest he will relish the step up to 1600 metres tomorrow and even longer distances further down the track. His dam Legs was an Oaks winner, and his half-brother Wolfwhistle is a Listed winner over 2000 metres.

“The extra distance of the Guineas is definitely going to suit him,” Richards said. “He's a horse who's looking for much further already. It should be perfect for him as we build towards the Derby. After the race we'll map out a campaign from here to the Derby on March 5.”

There were some concerns around Xtravagant racing right-handed prior to his Boxing Day win, but there are no such issues for Scrutinize. He has already been a winner at Ruakaka.

“Racing right-handed won't be a problem for him at all,” Richards said. “He's a really straightforward horse who does everything well. We're really excited about Friday and looking forward to the challenge.”

Scrutinize tops a classy field of 15 for the $100,000 feature, which was won last year by Volkstok'n'barrell.

Among the most interesting of his rivals is Street Sense gelding Get That Jive, who has made a big impression in his three starts to date. He won on debut, then placed in the Listed Great Northern Foal Stakes. After a lengthy break he resumed at Te Rapa earlier this month with a close second placing from a wide gate. The winner of that race was Ruud Not Too, who finished second in the Gr. 2 Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day.

“He's quite a smart horse,” Get That Jive's co-trainer Andrew Forsman said. “He's only had three starts but he's looked good every time. We're hoping he'll prove he measures up against the better three-year-olds. He's been doing really well since the resuming run and we're expecting him to go well again.”

Bachelor Duke colt Sultan of Swing, a half-brother to Australian Group One winner Suavito, has had two starts for an impressive debut victory and a fast-finishing third in the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial.

“He went super in the Trevor Eagle Memorial,” said Chris Gibbs, who trains the three-year-old in partnership with Donna Logan. “Mark Du Plessis rode him and was very pleased with the run and keen to stick with him.

“I think we're going into this race with a very positive outlook. His work's been very good and he seems to be improving all the time. We're really looking forward to the race.”

Rangipo has won three times and was fourth in the Gr. 3 Wellington Stakes last time out. Dragon Dancer looked good with back-to-back victories to begin his three-year-old campaign before disappointing in the Trevor Eagle Memorial.

Brighton, a stakes winner over this course and distance as a two-year-old, was fourth in the Gr. 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas last time out. Gravano, Golden Coin and Henree Winkler are last-start winners, while Dukedom, Lanciato, Sam's Ready, Cochise, What's The Story and Lucky Sweep recorded victories earlier in their campaigns.