Quality filly Mary Shan gave her age-group rivals a start and a beating at Pukekohe on Saturday when she cleared out for a hollow victory in the second race on the card, the Auckland Co-op Taxis 1400 (1400m) for the three-year-olds.
A strong tempo and heavy track conditions at Pukekohe Park on Saturday was the perfect winning combination for Highlighter, as the talented mare put her rivals away comfortably in the Barfoot & Thompson 1100.
While some feature-race wins are the result of months of planning and preparation, others can fall perfectly into place within the space of just 17 days.
The John Sargent-trained Casual Connection has likely earned a trip to Queensland following a hard-fought victory in the PF Civil Handicap (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Fresh off a seven-month spell, promising winter sprinter Spencer produced a stunning performance to claim one of the feature events on the programme at Trentham, the Metro Interiors Autumn Sprint Final (1200m).
A frustrating North Island campaign for Prince Alby finally took a turn for the better with a determined victory in Saturday’s John Cryan (2200m) at Trentham.
Here To Shock has claimed a berth in the Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) by the barest of margins when nosing out Freedom Rally to land the Gr.3 BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Prepared by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, the ever-improving six-year-old continued his strong recent form which included a win in the Gr.3 Victoria Handicap (1400m) last month, prior to a close second to Dashing over a mile at Caulfield.
Victorian raider Golden Path has returned to the winner’s circle with a well-timed run to score in the PF Civil Equipment Handicap (2000m) at Randwick for trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
The son of Belardo was perfectly handled by jockey Chad Schofield, with Golden Path collaring Father’s Day late with Toesonthenose in third.
Recent Kiwi acquisition Scarlet Oak is repaying her new connections in spades with a hard-fought victory in the Gr.2 The Roses (2000m) at Doomben coming at just her fourth raceday start.
Scarlet Oak was an impressive Matamata winner for Ken and Bev Kelso in March before prominent Australian owner Ozzie Kheir won the bidding war to secure the prized filly privately.
Sandown specialist Hard To Cross made it four wins from five starts at the venue when he posted a comfortable victory in the Benchmark84 Tile Importer Handicap (1600m) on Saturday.
In the process the Patrick Payne-prepared son of All Too Hard headed home a kiwi-bred one-two with seven-year-old Jimmy Choux gelding Trosettee, a stablemate of the winner, charging home late to claim second.
Progressive galloper Devastate bounced back to winning form when he prevailed in a thrilling three-way finish to the feature race at Pukekohe, the Jamieson Park 1500.
The four-year-old son of Vadamos displayed all his fighting qualities as he held out a stirring challenge from Zaila and the late finishing Accidental Tourist to register his fifth career win for a large group of owners that includes the sponsor of the race, Jamieson Park.
Days after Copper Belt Lodge went public with the news that Stephen Gray will return to New Zealand’s training ranks alongside his distinguished father Kevin, the opening race at Trentham on Saturday unveiled an exciting young prospect for the soon-to-resume partnership.
