Te Akau Southern Trackwork

Te Akau track work Thursday Nov. 14 at Riccarton

All three horses pleased in their final pieces of work ahead of racing on Saturday, the third day of the NZ Cup meeting, Nov. 16, at Riccarton.

1000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) contenders Costa Viva (3 f Encosta De Lago - Vivacious Spirit) and Spellbinder (3 f O'Reilly - Scenic Sprint) are ready to take their place, as too Viana (5 m Volksraad - Hecuba) in the Benchmark 85 1800 metres.

Costa Viva (Gerard) worked over 1000 metres at three-quarter pace on the plough. She was smooth in her action and strips in terrific order for the race. Costa Viva beat stable-mate Chambord (Zabeel) on Oct. 19 in the Ray Coupland Stakes (Listed, 1400m) at Ashburton, run in an unofficial race record time of 1:21.13. Chambord has subsequently franked the form by finishing second in the 2000 Guineas (Gr. 1, 1600m) last Saturday at Riccarton.

Spellbinder (Gerard) cantered a lap on the sand track. She has settled in well after flying south on Wednesday morning from Matamata. At her last outing, Oct. 28 at Te Rapa, Spellbinder ran a superb race for second to race rival Bounding in the James & Annie Sarten Memorial (Gr. 3, 1400m).

The TAB final field win market for the 1000 Guineas: Bounding $1.70, Miss Foxwood $5.00, Spellbinder $6.00, Costa Viva $6.50.

Viana (Robinson) covered 600 metres on the trial grass. A last start winner of the Spring Classic (Listed, 2000m) on Oct. 26 at Riccarton, Viana has the Wanganui Cup (Listed, 2040m) on Nov. 29 as her next target.

Pictured - Viana - www.raceimages.co.nz

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