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Comeback galloper Dez is an outside chance to head south for a stakes feature.
Lightly-raced due to injury, the six-year-old holds a nomination for the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton on August 4.
“It’s a longshot, he needs to get some more rating points,” part-owner and trainer Simon Wilson said.
Dez’s cause would be aided by further success in the J & J Walters Handicap (1550m) at Awapuni on Saturday.
“Obviously, he broke down a couple of years ago with a tendon issue but he has come back well,” Wilson said. “At this stage a mile suits him pretty well and being by Zed he likes the heavier tracks.”
Dez returned from a lengthy lay-off for a first-up win, the third of his career, at Waipukurau and he has subsequently placed at Wanganui and Trentham.