John Bary
Trish Dunell
John Bary has only one reservation about Van Halen's debut prospects at Woodville on Thursday.
The Hastings trainer has been pleased with the youngster's progress ahead of the Tararua Alliance 2YO Handicap, but the underfoot conditions are the question mark.
"The track is the worry with him," Bary said. "He's not tall, but he is very, very strong and that might help him to get through it."
A half-brother by Rock 'N' Pop to the Group One performer Mighty Solomon, Van Halen's sole trial performance resulted in a third placing at Awapuni in February behind the race day winners Hard Merchandize and Divine Power.
"He's a neat horse and I think he's got a future," Bary said.
Two other stable representatives at Woodville – Mocca and The Bandito – also rate as decent each-way chances in the Dannevirke Dairy Supplies Maiden and the Naylor Lawrence & Associates/Tararua Heliwork 1400 respectively.
"The big thing in Mocca's favour is that she's back to her own age group and over 1400 metres she should be finishing hard," Bary said.
Mocca has placed three times in her brief career, including a runner-up finish over a mile at Otaki two runs back.
The Bandito was a close third at Trentham last month and he then finished seventh at Awapuni, again on a Premier day. He should appreciate the drop back to a midweek contest.
"He's a pretty honest horse and this will be his last run before a spell," Bary said. – NZ Racing Desk.
The Hastings trainer has been pleased with the youngster's progress ahead of the Tararua Alliance 2YO Handicap, but the underfoot conditions are the question mark.
"The track is the worry with him," Bary said. "He's not tall, but he is very, very strong and that might help him to get through it."
A half-brother by Rock 'N' Pop to the Group One performer Mighty Solomon, Van Halen's sole trial performance resulted in a third placing at Awapuni in February behind the race day winners Hard Merchandize and Divine Power.
"He's a neat horse and I think he's got a future," Bary said.
Two other stable representatives at Woodville – Mocca and The Bandito – also rate as decent each-way chances in the Dannevirke Dairy Supplies Maiden and the Naylor Lawrence & Associates/Tararua Heliwork 1400 respectively.
"The big thing in Mocca's favour is that she's back to her own age group and over 1400 metres she should be finishing hard," Bary said.
Mocca has placed three times in her brief career, including a runner-up finish over a mile at Otaki two runs back.
The Bandito was a close third at Trentham last month and he then finished seventh at Awapuni, again on a Premier day. He should appreciate the drop back to a midweek contest.
"He's a pretty honest horse and this will be his last run before a spell," Bary said. – NZ Racing Desk.
