Reka
Trish Dunell
Ellerslie specialist Reka once again demonstrated his affinity for New Zealand's premier racetrack when he gave his rivals another galloping lesson at headquarters on Saturday.
The rugged eight-year-old gelding registered his tenth career win and 5th at Ellerslie when he took out the Hyland Race Colours 2200 in fine fashion, courtesy of a heady ride from pilot Danielle Johnson.
Trainer Richard Sherwin was delighted with the effort of both horse and rider as his pre-race plan was executed to perfection.
"He is just so tough and loves a fight so I wanted Danielle to make them chase her by putting the pressure on from the 800 metre mark," he said.
"We knew Katie McKeen would lead but I told Danielle that as soon as she tried to take a breather to hunt my guy into it and she followed those instructions to the letter."
Sherwin admitted he had been in two minds as to whether to continue the gelding's campaign after he finished a long last in the Listed Taumarunui Gold Cup back in July.
"He never fired a shot that day and after the race he had an elevated heart rate," he explained.
"We gave him a jump-out a week later and it was still up quite a bit so I thought about pulling the pin. I took it easy with him for a few days and he slowly came right although he is a hard horse to get a line on at home as he just loves to work so you never quite know if there is an issue or not."
A spirited trackwork gallop on Tuesday had Sherwin convinced his charge was back to full health and he duly obliged on the weekend.
"He's just a real warhorse and as long as he's okay over the next few days we will be back at Ellerslie later in the month," he advised.
"He's now won ten races and over $200,000 but I still think he has a few more in him while the tracks have some cut in them." – NZ Racing Desk
The rugged eight-year-old gelding registered his tenth career win and 5th at Ellerslie when he took out the Hyland Race Colours 2200 in fine fashion, courtesy of a heady ride from pilot Danielle Johnson.
Trainer Richard Sherwin was delighted with the effort of both horse and rider as his pre-race plan was executed to perfection.
"He is just so tough and loves a fight so I wanted Danielle to make them chase her by putting the pressure on from the 800 metre mark," he said.
"We knew Katie McKeen would lead but I told Danielle that as soon as she tried to take a breather to hunt my guy into it and she followed those instructions to the letter."
Sherwin admitted he had been in two minds as to whether to continue the gelding's campaign after he finished a long last in the Listed Taumarunui Gold Cup back in July.
"He never fired a shot that day and after the race he had an elevated heart rate," he explained.
"We gave him a jump-out a week later and it was still up quite a bit so I thought about pulling the pin. I took it easy with him for a few days and he slowly came right although he is a hard horse to get a line on at home as he just loves to work so you never quite know if there is an issue or not."
A spirited trackwork gallop on Tuesday had Sherwin convinced his charge was back to full health and he duly obliged on the weekend.
"He's just a real warhorse and as long as he's okay over the next few days we will be back at Ellerslie later in the month," he advised.
"He's now won ten races and over $200,000 but I still think he has a few more in him while the tracks have some cut in them." – NZ Racing Desk