Kenton Wright, Race Images
Matamata trainer Graham Richardson spent most of Saturday agonising over whether to let his promising galloper Tiptronic take his place in the last race of the day at Tauranga.
Steady drizzle throughout the day had softened the Tauranga track with Richardson concerned his long striding charge wouldn’t cope well with the underfoot conditions. He finally decided on keeping the four-year-old in the race which proved the correct decision as he strode to an impressive half-length victory in the rating 75 1600 metre contest.
“I thought about pulling him out several times during the day, but they seemed to be getting through the ground alright and running good times, so I decided to let him start,” explained Richardson who prepares the gelding with training partner Gavin Parker.
“He’s such a long striding type that I thought he might be all over the place in the going but the track held up remarkably and he did the business for us.”
Richardson holds the O’Reilly gelding in high esteem although he believes the best won’t be seen from him for another six months.
“He is an exciting galloper but he still has plenty to learn,” he admitted.
“He was quite green in the run to the post on Saturday and I thought the siren might even go. Once he fully matures and sorts his manners out he could be a real top-liner.
“At this stage we will keep him racing in his grade, but I do have several nice races in mind for him around Christmas if he keeps making the improvement we think he is capable of.”
Richardson also reported that quality mare Volpe Veloce has completed ten days of pre-training and is back in the stable as she prepares to tackle some elite level targets in the next few months.
“She looks a picture and really thrived during her time off after Hastings,” he said.
“We are going to aim her at the Railway Stakes at Ellerslie and hopefully the Telegraph at Trentham after that. The decision is going to be whether she has a run before the Railway, but we will see how she progresses and make that call closer to the time.
The Gr. 1 Sistema Railway will be run at Ellerslie on 1 January. – NZ Racing Desk.