Leading Southland trainer looking to raid more Canterbury riches

Leading Southland trainer, Brett Gray, is no stranger to coming north to Addington Raceway and upsetting the locals on harness racing’s biggest stage.

It was only a couple of months ago when Gray unleashed the impressive Always B Miki juvenile, Always Ticking to win the G3 $25,000 Leonard Memorial at headquarters, and tomorrow night (May 5), he will attempt to do the same with two cracking chances in the $40,000 Listed Uncut Gems.

“It would be great if we can continue that,” laughed Gray.

“We have had a bit of a good run winning the Leanord Memorial a couple of months ago. Winning feature races at Addington is hard to do, but it’s great when you can,” he said.

Gray lines up the talented Joes Rock (Pet Rock) in the first of the three $40,000 features with the Rico Lodge Uncut Gems Mares Classic taking place as the fifth race on the eleven-race programme.

The G1 placed four-year-old was an impressive last start winner of the Southern Belle Series Final on her home track, extending her record to six wins and 12 minor placings from just 25 race day starts.

On that occasion she peeled from the one-one to account for a talented bunch of mares with ease in a 1:56.1 mile rate having not raced for a month between runs.

“We were pretty wrapped with her, she went in there on the fresh side, and she seems to race a wee bit better that way and we managed to get her right on target, and the run she put in was super.

“She’s a lovely horse, when we got her, she could do a few things wrong, but she always had the ability, and she has just got better with racing, I think, and is a lovely horse to have around the stable,” he said.

She cops an awkward marble for tomorrow night’s assignment having drawn in barrier seven for the 1980m journey, but with Southland’s leading reinsman aboard, Gray is confident in the man they call ‘the goat’ to be making the right decisions.

“I like to leave that up to Nathan because I don’t like to give too many driving instructions. I’d say he will have to go out a wee bit and try and slide across, when you are in these sorts of races you have got to give them their chance.

“She has had a few trips there now and has always raced well at Addington. I have just arrived up here in Canterbury now and she has travelled a treat and really happy with the way she has been working,” he said.

The bookies have rated Joes Rock a $5 third favourite to claim the Listed feature and will have to contend with some well performed mares such as the G1 placed favourite, Manhattan, the G2 Premiere Mares Championship winner Folklore and the stablemate to the favourite in Kikorangi Blue.

JOES ROCK REPLAY

She has proven she can mix it with the best in her sex as evidenced by her excellent G1 debut back in February and the lightly raced mare will be one to follow as she no doubt climbs through the grades in the next 12 months.

“We will target those bigger mares’ races again next year,” said Gray.

“She did well in her first foray into the top grade when she ran third in the G1 NZ Breeders Stakes, and it was a big run coming from a long way back. She isn’t a very big horse so I think as long as we look after her and space her races, she will repay us in the future,” he said.

Later in the night Gray will tackle the $40,000 Listed Uncut Gems Trotters Classic with another mare in form by way of Peregrine. Like her pacing stablemate, the daughter of Pegasus Spur has been a model of consistency in her career to date with 17 placings alongside seven career victories from just 30 race day appearances.

The five-year-old mare hasn’t won since a dominant display on Show Day in the Intermediate grade trot, but dont let that fool you. She also hasn’t finished further adrift then fourth which happened to come in Group Two company in a race won by the G1 National Trot placed Resolve.

Her last start effort at Addington a week ago came with just five days between races where she was an excellent second behind, I Dream Of Jeannie.

“She seems well, she had a bit of a short back up last week and I thought it was a top run when you consider that on top of the back mark off 40m and the trip north. She has been up her for the week and the team are happy with her. She is just a lovely mare and super consistent.

“She was a $4000 weanling sale purchase when we were up racing at the Jewels and has been pretty nice all of the way through. She had one setback there a while back but has never really let us down and always puts her best foot forward,” he said.

Going forward, Gray admits he will be looking to target as many of the mares’ races, they can find for Peregrine given her rating has her copping some fairly hefty back marks. He also recognises that in the current climate with horse numbers dwindling, it may also be a fact of life if she wishes to continue racing in this country.

“The more you can race in those fillies and mares races the better for them. We’ve copped some pretty big back marks her last half a dozen starts and it’s getting to that point where she is going to have spend more time in Christchurch in the future. But that’s the way it is, she will have to stay in town or head over to Australia.

“If they are chasing, chasing, chasing all the time and being a mare, it can be detrimental. But with our horse numbers being the way they are, I can’t see it getting any better,” he said.

Peregrine has now competed at Group Level on four occasions for seconds in both the G3 David Moss and Southern Lights at Ascot Park and was 5th and 4th in the inaugural South Island trotting mares features, showing she can mix it at the highest level if required.

When asked whether it was something he would consider with Peregrine more in the future, Gray was confident she would handle the grade rise while realistic about the challenge of tackling some of the countries elite trotting talent.

“She is definitely a mare who can take that next step and with the right run she has shown she can be competitive with and beat some of the better trotters going around.

“Maybe not Muscle Mountain though,” he laughed.

For complete Addington race fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink