Te Akau Matamata Exhibition Gallops

Te Akau trainers Mark Walker & Sam Bergerson took the opportunity to give stakes' performed horses an exhibition gallop between races on Wednesday at Matamata, and racing manager Reece Trumper summarised the performances.

Tokyo Tycoon went with Quintessa, Campionessa was joined by Fierce Flight, and Maven Belle was paired with Move To Strike.

Exhibition riders, assignments, and comments from Reece Trumper:

Campionessa (Contributer) – Niranjan Parmar; contests the $600,000 Herbie Dyke Stakes (Gr. 1, 2000m) this Saturday at Te Rapa, with Opie Bosson aboard.

“Campionessa is flying and Parmar reported her work was sensational,” Trumper said. “Obviously Legarto will be hard to beat on Saturday, but she’s right in the mix based on her work. “She got stuck in the worst of the ground last time at Trentham.”

Quintessa (Shamus Award) – Matt Cameron; contests the $400,000 BCD Group Sprint (Gr. 1, 1400m) this Saturday at Te Rapa, with Matt Cameron aboard.

“Quintessa is also flying, ahead of her assignment on Saturday,” Trumper said. “Matt was thrilled with her work. She didn’t have the blinkers on, so she’ll be switched on and ready to go when we reapply the blinkers on Saturday.”

Fierce Flight (Flying Artie) – Joe Doyle; contests the $175,000 Eagle Technology Avondale Cup (Gr. 2, 2400m) on Saturday 17 February at Ellerslie.

“Fierce Flight was really good,” Trumper said. “He worked up nicely with Campionessa.”

Tokyo Tycoon (Satono Aladdin) – Warren Kennedy; contests the $175,000 Eagle Technology Avondale Guineas (Gr. 2, 2100m) on Saturday 17 February at Ellerslie.

“Warren reported it was the best he’s ever worked for him,” Trumper said. “He’s ridden him in a lot of track work and said he was up and travelling in the exhibition. Warren is going to ride him in the Avondale Guineas and is also booked for the Derby.”

Maven Belle (Burgundy) – Vinnie Colgan; contests the $65,000 Open Handicap 1200 metres on Saturday 17 February also at Ellerslie.

“Maven Belle was excellent and Vinnie was thrilled with her,” Trumper said. “She going to the open sprint and we’re aiming to get her confidence back.

“She probably should have won the Legacy Lodge Sprint (Listed, 1200m) fresh-up in this campaign. But she’s come through her last race really well, where I think the track was just a bit shifty after the rain for her to let down on Karaka Millions' night at Ellerslie.

Move To Strike (I Am Invincible) – Opie Bosson; is preparing for the $100,000 Fairview Matamata Slipper (Gr. 3, 1200m) on Saturday 24 February at Matamata.

“Move To Strike was just starting to go through the motions a bit, so we put blinkers on and his work was very solid,” Trumper said. “Opie was very pleased with him and he’s progressing very well.

“It was just the wet track that tripped him up on New Year’s Day at Pukekohe, and he should be right in it on decent footing at Matamata.”

Note: due to a camera misfunction, no photographs of the exhibition gallops were available. Instead, given his first public appearance for some time, we chose to post a photo of Gingernuts undertaking a Matamata exhibition gallop during his racing career. We are thrilled Jerry (as we know him) will feature at Legends' Day at Te Rapa on Saturday. He will lead out the field for the Group 2 David and Karyn Ellis Fillies' Classic.