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Courage is All In Vogue's chief attack weapon, according to the last-start Wanganui Cup winner's jockey Leah Hemi.
She had her first ride aboard the Kevin Gray-trained Pins mare at Wanganui and couldn't have been more impressed.
"She's a really smart mare,” the 31-year-old Palmerston North jockey said. “She's quite gutsy, very tough. She's not very big, but she's got a huge heart,"
A winner of six of her 27 starts, as well as finishing second in the Listed New Zealand St Leger (2500m), All In Vogue tackles Saturday's Gr.3 Hotel Coachman Manawatu Cup (2100m) at Awapuni, carrying 2kg more than she did in her first stakes success in the Listed Wanganui Cup (2040m).
"She's beaten some really nice horses at Wanganui, the likes of Blathwayt, and halfway up the straight I thought she was only going to run fourth but she really dug deep," Hemi said.
"She didn't have everything go right for her that day so you'd think she'd really improve off that run too. I haven't ridden her since but they've told me she's come through that run really well and they are expecting her to go well again this weekend.
"She's carrying a couple of kilos more so it won't be easy, especially because Blathwayt hasn't gone up in weight. It's a nice field but I’m expecting that her courage will make her competitive."
TAB bookmakers have opened All In Vogue as a $6.50 third favourite for the Manawatu Cup in a market headed by Boxachocolates at $4.20 and Clarify at $5.20.
Bred by the Fell family's Fairdale and Goodwood Studs out of their three-time Group One-winning Kaapstad mare Tall Poppy, All In Vogue was a $50,000 Karaka premier yearling sale buy for Stratford couple Peter and Min McDonald.
Hemi has six rides at Awapuni on Saturday, including the mount on the Nigel Auret-trained La Fille En Jeu in the Gr.2 Kamada Park Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m).
"She's gone some nice races in good open company. Fresh-up she ran fourth at Hastings and she ran well down south," Hemi said.
"It's a tough field and I'm not sure how she'll go at weight-for-age but she'll go forward and if she could place, I'd be really happy."
Of Hemi's other mounts, she expected another bold run from her last-start Waipukurau winning ride Cornerstone and also from the resuming Ollie's Note. - NZ Racing Desk.