Hunter on weather watch

The Southland weather in the last week has been pretty rough.

“I’m about to get her back in because she’s had about a month out. She won’t take too long to get ready but if you get weather like the last few days. All of a sudden you miss a bit of work here and there,” Hunter said.

Owned by Brendon Fahy, Raklou in her breakout season was only beaten once in her four starts. She ended her first campaign in early June, winning the G3 Helen Pope Classic at Ashburton. Her two previous wins were at Rangiora and Addington.

The next half of the season will give her connections a better gauge on where Raklou sits in her age group peaking order.

Hunter says a heat of the Dunstan Horsefeeds Sires Stakes Series at Addington is on the radar with the $130,000 final on Show Day and the $100,000 G1 Ace of Diamonds on 10^th December a season ending goal.

“She’ll have to be at the workouts by September. The races are in Canterbury and it’s a big help to have a good base up there (at sister in-law Megan Swain’s). I wouldn’t be able to do it otherwise.”

Raklou with $34,650 in stakes won to date is currently second on the leaderboard for the Ace of Diamonds $1,440 behind top seed Treacherous Love (Captaintreacherous).

“She’s a horse that I’m not used to having. It’ll be interesting to see what comes out now. There’s a couple down here that go quite nice (Flying Ellie and Always Ticking). It’s always a pleasure to be racing in those sorts of races.”

Hunter has developed horses that have gone on to have success after being sold to Australia. Port Au Prince (Somebeachsomewhere) won three in New Zealand and has won a further nine across the Tasman. Justalittlesip (Franco Ledger) won one race from six starts before being sold to Australia where he’s won another nine. Seven win pacer Onedin Hustler (Village Jasper) went on to win seventeen races in Australia and Rakarebel (Christian Cullen) won six in New Zealand and a further nineteen in Australia.

It’s great he’s hanging on to Raklou.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink