Te Akau Weekend Preview

Te Akau New Zealand has six horses entered for the ten-race programme at Ruakaka, and one on the nine-race card at Awapuni, Saturday June 14.

Ruakaka:
As on Friday June 13 the conditions were: cloudy and Slow7, rail out 4 metres.

11:30am R1 5 Sovereign Rose (6 m Pins - Pavan) - Michael Coleman; like others around her, she was unable to close from off the pace in the Benchmark 75 2100 metres here on May 21, having won two starts prior at 17-1 over a mile in a slick 1:34.3 at Hastings. Up in grade, but down in weight, for the Benchmark 85 2100 metres, she should receive a favourable trip from barrier two and staged a massive run from last when finishing second here over the same distance in May last year - one of two in the race for Te Akau.

11:30am R1 9 Milan Miss (4 m Darci Brahma - Falaniella) - Matt Cameron; contested the same race as Sovereign Rose here last time, having endured testing conditions a week earlier at Te Aroha. She has a tongue tie on for this assignment, has been in good fettle at home and can produce an improved performance.

12:00pm R2 3 Secret Whisper (5 g Align - Danewhisper) - Matt Cameron; drops back in grade to contest the Benchmark 75 1600 metres after struggling on very holding ground in the Benchmark 85 1600 metres last time out at Hawera. While local hope Candle in The Wind will be all the rage, he should have the measure of some other rivals and was in winning form two starts ago.

12:30pm R3 2 Resonance (4 g Darci Brahma - Royal Rhythm) - Matt Cameron; stuck gamely to his task to finish sixth after leading on debut in the Maiden 1400 metres on Dead5 footing at Hastings. He will be ridden quieter from barrier ten in the corresponding event and trainer Jason Bridgman has been happy with his progress since the first up run.

2:16pm R6 2 All Decked Out (3 c Darci Brahma - Diamond Deck) - Matt Cameron; last raced on Boxing Day at Ellerslie, and resumes off 170-days in the Benchmark 65 1200 metres having finished second in a recent trial on slow ground at Te Teko. Last season, he scored an authoritative debut win here on July 13 in the 2YO 1200 metres on dead ground. With plans to ride the horse quietly from a wide gate, he has the quality at best to work into the finish.

2:51pm R7 7 Merrily (3 f O'Reilly - Mchappy) - Matt Cameron; raced away to win by nearly five lengths on May 22 in the Maiden 1400 metres on Dead5 footing at Hastings, having run home stylishly for third to Rockwell (Fastnet Rock) when resuming prior over 1200 metres at Avondale. Finding a suitable race in the next grade sees her back in distance for the Benchmark 65 1200 metres, but she has what is required to not only take a position from barrier six but also prove competitive in this field.

Awapuni:
As on Friday June 13 the conditions were: overcast and Heavy11, rail true.

1:20pm R4 5 Brer (5 g China Cat - La Fox) - Daniel Miller; went boldly on the speed and lifted when challenged at the 300 metres in finishing third to race rival Indikator (Sandtrap) in the Open Hurdle 2500 metres on Dead5 footing at Hastings. Having trained on nicely in the interim, he now contests the $50k Awapuni Hurdle 2900 metres. He loves this type of going and all involved a hoping for a bold performance.

Jason's bet of the week: Merrily