Chocante
Trish Dunell
Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh has a long-term Australian plan for his rising staying star Chocante.
He has been far from surprised by the rapid progress of the four-year-old, who won't be over-taxed through the summer.
"He's always looked like a top cups horse in the making, he's very progressive with a very bright future," Marsh said.
"We'll look after him and he'll probably only have a couple more runs before we give him a break and we could well be looking at Sydney in the autumn."
A son of Shocking, Chocante, broke his maiden as a three-year-old in April and following further successes in the spring at Matamata and Te Rapa he was an impressive last-start winner of the Gr.3 Counties Cup.
He sat three wide without cover and was still able to round his effort off strongly in the run home for a clear-cut victory.
"He's done well and I wanted to give him a bit of time between runs," Marsh said.
"The Manawatu Cup will be his next start and I'm pretty relaxed about things after Saturday. I'll wait and see how he comes through Awapuni and maybe look at the City of Auckland Cup."
Chocante will have a change of rider this weekend with Danielle Johnson replacing Craig Grylls, who pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding at Ellersie on Sunday and was suspended for three days.
Meanwhile, stablemate No More Tears has been set for a New Year's Day Group One feature.
"She's back in the stable and she'll run in the Railway at Ellerslie in a fresh state," Marsh said.
No More Tears, who has two first-up victories to her credit, hasn't raced since she finished a close eighth in the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes. – NZ Racing Desk.
He has been far from surprised by the rapid progress of the four-year-old, who won't be over-taxed through the summer.
"He's always looked like a top cups horse in the making, he's very progressive with a very bright future," Marsh said.
"We'll look after him and he'll probably only have a couple more runs before we give him a break and we could well be looking at Sydney in the autumn."
A son of Shocking, Chocante, broke his maiden as a three-year-old in April and following further successes in the spring at Matamata and Te Rapa he was an impressive last-start winner of the Gr.3 Counties Cup.
He sat three wide without cover and was still able to round his effort off strongly in the run home for a clear-cut victory.
"He's done well and I wanted to give him a bit of time between runs," Marsh said.
"The Manawatu Cup will be his next start and I'm pretty relaxed about things after Saturday. I'll wait and see how he comes through Awapuni and maybe look at the City of Auckland Cup."
Chocante will have a change of rider this weekend with Danielle Johnson replacing Craig Grylls, who pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding at Ellersie on Sunday and was suspended for three days.
Meanwhile, stablemate No More Tears has been set for a New Year's Day Group One feature.
"She's back in the stable and she'll run in the Railway at Ellerslie in a fresh state," Marsh said.
No More Tears, who has two first-up victories to her credit, hasn't raced since she finished a close eighth in the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes. – NZ Racing Desk.