Majestic Champion at Te Awamutu trials
Trish Dunell
Majestic Champion might only be getting second billing in the Ken and Bev Kelso stable this weekend, but that doesn't mean he will have to play second fiddle at Te Rapa on Saturday.
Sebring gelding Majestic Champion tackles the New World Te Rapa 1200 for two-year-olds as the only race winner in the set weights and penalties event.
While trainer Ken Kelso won't be trackside to supervise Majestic Champion - he will be at Eagle Farm to saddle Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes winner Perfect Fit in the Gr.2 QTC Cup - he expects a bold run from his youngster at Te Rapa.
"He's Hong Kong-owned and he's got to get his rating up so that's mainly why he's there. He will go to Hong Kong if he continues to impress us and get his rating up," Kelso said.
A winner at Te Rapa on debut last November, Majestic Champion was unplaced in each of his subsequent three starts but did tackle good company, finishing fifth in the Gr.3 Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie before getting too far out of his ground in the $1 million Karaka Million at the same track in late January.
He has placed in two trials, at Cambridge and Te Awamutu, in preparation for Saturday's race in which he will be ridden by Cameron Lammas, who replaces Perfect Fit's jockey Michael Coleman.
"I thought he trialled well. His first one was very good and the second one was on a very heavy track and he only does as much as he needs to. I told Michael not to give him a hard trial so we were pretty happy," Kelso said.
"I'd like to think he'd go a good race and hopefully he's a winning chance. He's well off at the weights and I'm not overly concerned about the wide draw. Drawing out at Te Rapa over 1200m is not as bad as some tracks, like Ellerslie, and he'll press forward anyway.
"We'll get through this one before we make any plans with him. Whether he handles those really deep tracks, I don't know. That was the idea of going to Te Rapa first, knowing we'd get a half-pie decent track to start with."
Meanwhile, Kelso is upbeat when assessing Perfect Fit ahead of the QTC Cup, though he admits he would have preferred to have raced last week, when the races at Eagle Farm were abandoned after heavy rain in Brisbane.
"I'm very happy with her. She's thrived over there. She's working well and eating well," Kelso said.
"I was disappointed the races were called off last week. We had a lot in our favour. She handles a wet track and there were six scratchings and she'd drawn [barrier] two. This week it's a full field and she's drawn 11, though it's not quite as strong a field as some of the better ones have opted for the Stradbroke."
While Kelso was expecting a typically competitive race from the winner of six of her 11 starts, he stressed that Perfect Fit's target was the Gr.1 Tattersall's Tiara at Eagle Farm in two weeks' time.
- NZ Racing Desk
Sebring gelding Majestic Champion tackles the New World Te Rapa 1200 for two-year-olds as the only race winner in the set weights and penalties event.
While trainer Ken Kelso won't be trackside to supervise Majestic Champion - he will be at Eagle Farm to saddle Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes winner Perfect Fit in the Gr.2 QTC Cup - he expects a bold run from his youngster at Te Rapa.
"He's Hong Kong-owned and he's got to get his rating up so that's mainly why he's there. He will go to Hong Kong if he continues to impress us and get his rating up," Kelso said.
A winner at Te Rapa on debut last November, Majestic Champion was unplaced in each of his subsequent three starts but did tackle good company, finishing fifth in the Gr.3 Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie before getting too far out of his ground in the $1 million Karaka Million at the same track in late January.
He has placed in two trials, at Cambridge and Te Awamutu, in preparation for Saturday's race in which he will be ridden by Cameron Lammas, who replaces Perfect Fit's jockey Michael Coleman.
"I thought he trialled well. His first one was very good and the second one was on a very heavy track and he only does as much as he needs to. I told Michael not to give him a hard trial so we were pretty happy," Kelso said.
"I'd like to think he'd go a good race and hopefully he's a winning chance. He's well off at the weights and I'm not overly concerned about the wide draw. Drawing out at Te Rapa over 1200m is not as bad as some tracks, like Ellerslie, and he'll press forward anyway.
"We'll get through this one before we make any plans with him. Whether he handles those really deep tracks, I don't know. That was the idea of going to Te Rapa first, knowing we'd get a half-pie decent track to start with."
Meanwhile, Kelso is upbeat when assessing Perfect Fit ahead of the QTC Cup, though he admits he would have preferred to have raced last week, when the races at Eagle Farm were abandoned after heavy rain in Brisbane.
"I'm very happy with her. She's thrived over there. She's working well and eating well," Kelso said.
"I was disappointed the races were called off last week. We had a lot in our favour. She handles a wet track and there were six scratchings and she'd drawn [barrier] two. This week it's a full field and she's drawn 11, though it's not quite as strong a field as some of the better ones have opted for the Stradbroke."
While Kelso was expecting a typically competitive race from the winner of six of her 11 starts, he stressed that Perfect Fit's target was the Gr.1 Tattersall's Tiara at Eagle Farm in two weeks' time.
- NZ Racing Desk