Ruud Not Too
Trish Dunell
Stephen Marsh received a pleasant surprise when Ruud Not Too produced a stirring first-up performance to win a competitive Rating 85 contest at Ellerslie.
The Cambridge trainer believed she was the best of the three runners he lined up in Saturday's Withers & Co 1100, but he still didn't expect to win the sprint.
"At the weights and the way they were drawn, I had Ruud No Too on top of mine, but I still thought Go Nicholas would win," Marsh said.
As it turned out, Ruud Not Too was a touch too good for stablemate Rocanto with Chachar taking third off the favourite Go Nicholas.
"I'm very happy, but I was keeping an eye in the straight on Go Nicholas. He's a horse I've got a lot of respect for," Marsh said.
Unraced since April, Ruud Not Too bounced out of her handy gate to lead for Danielle Johnson and the Bernardini mare kicked on determinedly in the run home to beat Rocanto, who had to give the winner five and a half kilos.
"I think the weight was the difference in the end," Marsh said. "They are both very good horses and they were great runs from both of them."
Ruud Not Too has yet to win beyond 1400 metres, but Marsh is confident the Group placed four-year-old can put that right in her main aim, the Dunstan Feeds Rising Stars Championship at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.
"That 1500 metre race looks perfect for her," he said.
Meanwhile, Rocanto holds Group One nominations for the Sistema Railway Stakes and the J.R. & N. Berkett Telegraph.
"We'll be looking at the major sprints with him and he will drop a lot of weight for them," Marsh said. – NZ Racing Desk.
The Cambridge trainer believed she was the best of the three runners he lined up in Saturday's Withers & Co 1100, but he still didn't expect to win the sprint.
"At the weights and the way they were drawn, I had Ruud No Too on top of mine, but I still thought Go Nicholas would win," Marsh said.
As it turned out, Ruud Not Too was a touch too good for stablemate Rocanto with Chachar taking third off the favourite Go Nicholas.
"I'm very happy, but I was keeping an eye in the straight on Go Nicholas. He's a horse I've got a lot of respect for," Marsh said.
Unraced since April, Ruud Not Too bounced out of her handy gate to lead for Danielle Johnson and the Bernardini mare kicked on determinedly in the run home to beat Rocanto, who had to give the winner five and a half kilos.
"I think the weight was the difference in the end," Marsh said. "They are both very good horses and they were great runs from both of them."
Ruud Not Too has yet to win beyond 1400 metres, but Marsh is confident the Group placed four-year-old can put that right in her main aim, the Dunstan Feeds Rising Stars Championship at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.
"That 1500 metre race looks perfect for her," he said.
Meanwhile, Rocanto holds Group One nominations for the Sistema Railway Stakes and the J.R. & N. Berkett Telegraph.
"We'll be looking at the major sprints with him and he will drop a lot of weight for them," Marsh said. – NZ Racing Desk.