Zambezi Warrior
Race Images Palmerston North
Stephen Autridge has warned punters to ignore Zambezi Warrior's most recent performance when assessing his chances at Friday's Taranaki meeting.
The Matamata trainer, who prepares the son of Pentire with Jamie Richards, said nothing went right for the gelding at Auckland last month.
"He copped two or three different lots of interference so you can just forget that run.
"Unfortunately, that's twice he's nearly fallen at Ellerslie and that's where a lot of the major races are so we'll have to be brave in the future and go back again."
In the meantime, Zambezi Warrior will use the La Nuova Apparelmaster 1800 at New Plymouth as a way back to the big time.
"He should be really hard to beat and this is a stepping stone to his next couple of runs," Autridge said.
"We'll look at those qualifying races for the Dunstan final and he could also end up in a nice cup race with a light weight. We really like him."
The four-year-old has won three of his 10 starts and last season he showed his staying potential when he finished runner-up to The Hassler in the Gr.2 Championship Stakes.
He will be ridden by Matthew Cameron, who also has winning prospects aboard Zambezi Warrior's stablemates Lady Jasmine (race two), Grazia (race three) and Primrose (race four).
The former was recently placed at the Te Awamutu trials, Grazia won at the Te Aroha trials while Primrose caught the eye when she produced a strong late finish for fourth when resuming at Avondale earlier this month. – NZ Racing Desk.
The Matamata trainer, who prepares the son of Pentire with Jamie Richards, said nothing went right for the gelding at Auckland last month.
"He copped two or three different lots of interference so you can just forget that run.
"Unfortunately, that's twice he's nearly fallen at Ellerslie and that's where a lot of the major races are so we'll have to be brave in the future and go back again."
In the meantime, Zambezi Warrior will use the La Nuova Apparelmaster 1800 at New Plymouth as a way back to the big time.
"He should be really hard to beat and this is a stepping stone to his next couple of runs," Autridge said.
"We'll look at those qualifying races for the Dunstan final and he could also end up in a nice cup race with a light weight. We really like him."
The four-year-old has won three of his 10 starts and last season he showed his staying potential when he finished runner-up to The Hassler in the Gr.2 Championship Stakes.
He will be ridden by Matthew Cameron, who also has winning prospects aboard Zambezi Warrior's stablemates Lady Jasmine (race two), Grazia (race three) and Primrose (race four).
The former was recently placed at the Te Awamutu trials, Grazia won at the Te Aroha trials while Primrose caught the eye when she produced a strong late finish for fourth when resuming at Avondale earlier this month. – NZ Racing Desk.