Kenton Wright Race Images
Jamie Richards took his tally to 49 wins for the season with a double at Ruakaka on Tuesday.
Prise De Fer justified his race day favouritism taking out the Interislander Summer Festival Jan 5 Maiden (1400m).
“It was a lovely ride by Opie (Bosson),” Richards said. “He’s still a little bit immature, but a progressive horse that we think can take the next step and we’ll give him a chance to contest the better three-year-old staying races and see how we get on.”
A race later Weaponry followed up his debut win in November with victory in the Seasons Greetings Rating 65 (1400m).
“He won well at Rotorua, where he did a few things wrong and still won, but I was pleased to see Opie ride him a bit further back on Tuesday,” Richards said.
“He got him to relax, and I thought he closed off really well. He only just won, but that’s probably the best way to ride him because he can pull up if he gets to the front too soon.”