Trish Dunell
Hastings trainer John Bary is pleased with the talent in his yard at present and is looking forward to showcasing some of it on the final day of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival on Saturday.
“We’ve had three winners from seven runners this season already, a few nice placings and a couple fronting up so we are pretty happy with where we are at,” Bary said.
“We train 30-35 and normally about 10 percent of those would be black-type performers, but I reckon I have at least five or six that will feature in those kind of races this season.”
Bary believes his talented three-year-old King Louis will be a factor in the Gr.2 Sacred Falls Hawke's Bay Guineas (1400m), with an inside draw (3) beneficial for the on-speed runner.
“He’s still a work in progress and to let him roll and not fight with him has been the crucial thing and he is learning,” Bary said.
King Louis finished second behind Princess Amelie over 1200m and Bary said the son of Equiano continues to improve from both a fitness perspective and mentally.
“He is the most relaxed horse around the farm and in training you would put your kids on him.
“Last season he was a colt and when we gelded him we found one of his testicles was twisted 180 degrees and he associates it with pain. He is a work in progress to educate him that it is not going to hurt and he is getting better and better.
“The day the penny drops and he works out he can sit back and use his speed at the other end of the race, then we are going to have a pretty serious racehorse.
“At two he ran fifth in the Sires’ Produce (Gr.1, 1400m) and if you watch the replay he fought the jockey for 700m and then still finished it off.”
Bary will also be represented on the undercard by progressive mare Vinnie's Volley, who steps up to a BenchMark 82 following back-to-back victories this term.
“She’s another one that is untapped,” Bary said. “We weighed her this morning and she is only 470kgs. Probably her last run was her best run because she settled for the first time behind one that took off.
“She is a very nice filly in the making, with three wins from six starts.
“She is certainly a black type horse in the making, but whether it is this prep or next, we are not quite sure.
Staying mare High Spirits continues her path toward the Gr.3 Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup (3200m) on November 17 when she tackles the Bay Ford NZ Punter Of The Year 2200m.
“She keeps stepping up,” Bary said.
“She is more mature now and is quite a hefty mare. She was a bit light framed but has matured mentally and physically. It was a good run last start, not many made ground up off the back at the last meeting.”
As the equal top-rater, High Spirits will carry 58kgs and will be ridden by Jason Waddell.
“Carrying the weight doesn’t worry me, but saying that she has won all her races off a light weight, but she is doing everything right and is on-track for Christchurch.”
Meanwhile, Bary confirmed that his Group One winning mare Miss Wilson has been covered in Australia this spring after being retired after trailing home the field in the Gr.1 Tatts Tiara (1350m) in June.
“She’s retired. She got galloped on badly in her last start. There is nothing for her back here and she got her Group One so she went to Zoustar.” – NZ Racing Desk