Quality harness racing mare Aardies Express (Always B Miki) will make a return to the trials at Rangiora tomorrow (Wednesday).
“She’s in a three horse heat and she’ll hopefully get her ticket for standing starts. She was probably ready to go to the trials about a month ago but got a bad foot abscess and went back to the water walker. But we’ve been in no real hurry,” co-trainer Steve Telfer said.
The winner of eight of her nine starts as a three year old including the Group Three Macca Lodge/Nevele R Stud Southern Oaks, Aardies Express has been away from the racetrack for ten months and last raced on 16th September winning the Listed Woodlands Stud Sires Stakes ‘Harness 7000’ at Addington.
“She had a wee fracture to the top of her cannon bone just under her knee.”
Telfer said Aardies Express will be nominated for the New Zealand Cup.
“It’s more likely that she’ll follow a programme of mares races in September and October. She’s also eligible for the Show Day Futurity. The Queen of Hearts here in Auckland will be one of her targets and then back to the mare races in January.”
Telfer said the team is happy with her progress and is looking forward to seeing the four year old back on the racetrack.
“We’re real pleased with her training but she’ll benefit from a few outings. She was always a big girl, but she’s come back looking really big and strong. I think she started the campaign around 600 kilos so that’s a pretty big horse.”
For complete trial entries, click here.
by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink