Maybe Miami
Race Images South
A comprehensive five length victory at Ashburton on the weekend has Maybe Miami set to start one of the top local hopes in Saturday's 119th running of the Gr. 3 eStar Winter Cup at Riccarton.
Trainer Kevin Hughes, who prepares the rising five-year-old with wife Pam at their Riccarton base, is convinced he has the Iffraaj gelding peaking at just the right time for his biggest test to date.
"I was hoping he would show me he was ready to take the next step up and I think we got the right answer with the ease of his win," he noted.
"He has always shown a lot of promise but was inclined to do a few things wrong in his early days. He is far more settled with some age on him and he's really come on in this preparation
"It was only a small field on Saturday so I wanted him to dominate if he could. Chris (Johnson) said he did it very easily and he just sat on him for the last part of the race.
"Funnily enough when Chris was easing him down after the line the horse caught sight of one of the placegetters charging after him so he picked up the bit and took off again, nearly dropping Chris in the process."
Hughes has had his eyes on the feature flat race at Riccarton's winter carnival for his charge throughout his current campaign.
"We've always thought he was good enough to tackle a race like the Winter Cup so we've spaced his races this time in to try and get him in at his peak," he said.
"At first I did have some concerns he wouldn't get past 1200 metres but he has matured nicely so I don't think the mile is beyond him.
"Even if he gets a penalty for this latest win he will still get into the race on a nice light weight so we are looking forward to the weekend.
"The weather looks like it will be quite settled and we haven't had that much rain so it could be quite a decent track. He handles most surfaces so that won't be an issue for him."
TAB bookmakers have Maybe Miami at $21 on the Fixed Odds market for the race with the Lisa Latta trained Platinum Command the current favourite at $5. – NZ Racing Desk
Trainer Kevin Hughes, who prepares the rising five-year-old with wife Pam at their Riccarton base, is convinced he has the Iffraaj gelding peaking at just the right time for his biggest test to date.
"I was hoping he would show me he was ready to take the next step up and I think we got the right answer with the ease of his win," he noted.
"He has always shown a lot of promise but was inclined to do a few things wrong in his early days. He is far more settled with some age on him and he's really come on in this preparation
"It was only a small field on Saturday so I wanted him to dominate if he could. Chris (Johnson) said he did it very easily and he just sat on him for the last part of the race.
"Funnily enough when Chris was easing him down after the line the horse caught sight of one of the placegetters charging after him so he picked up the bit and took off again, nearly dropping Chris in the process."
Hughes has had his eyes on the feature flat race at Riccarton's winter carnival for his charge throughout his current campaign.
"We've always thought he was good enough to tackle a race like the Winter Cup so we've spaced his races this time in to try and get him in at his peak," he said.
"At first I did have some concerns he wouldn't get past 1200 metres but he has matured nicely so I don't think the mile is beyond him.
"Even if he gets a penalty for this latest win he will still get into the race on a nice light weight so we are looking forward to the weekend.
"The weather looks like it will be quite settled and we haven't had that much rain so it could be quite a decent track. He handles most surfaces so that won't be an issue for him."
TAB bookmakers have Maybe Miami at $21 on the Fixed Odds market for the race with the Lisa Latta trained Platinum Command the current favourite at $5. – NZ Racing Desk