Capella
Trish Dunell
Danica Guy is concentrating on quality over quantity on Saturday.
The Matamata trainer will be represented at two meetings, but will have just one runner at each venue.
Her high class filly Capella has opened as favourite for the Gr.3 Wellfield Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham while stablemate and Gr.1 winner In Style tackles the Norwood Farm Machinery Centre 1200m at Matamata.
Capella has missed a couple of scheduled runs since her decisive victory in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.
She was a late scratching from the Gr.2 Royal Stakes at Ellerslie when the rain came and a minor setback meant she also missed the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m), on the first day of the Wellington Cup meeting, on January 16.
"She had a little virus a couple of weeks before [the Levin Classic] and her blood wasn't right," Guy said. "She was doing everything right the following week but we didn't want to take the risk of giving her a big float trip.
"We are really happy with her now. She's very clean-winded and a real athlete."
The Eight Carat was Capella's third win in the space of four starts and the Rip Van Winkle filly opened as a $2.80 favourite for the Desert Gold, with Coldplay ($7) and Black Sav ($8) the only others at single-figure odds.
Capella also heads the market for the Gr.1 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks on March 19 but the Gr.1 BMW New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie a fortnight earlier remains an option.
"We might have a better idea of whether we will head to the Oaks or the Derby after the weekend," Guy said.
"Though she still has to prove that she can stay. All the indications are that she will, but you can never be 100 percent confident before they try."
Capella is expected to make her middle distance debut in the Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa on February 13.
In Style will be attempting to get her campaign back on track after a frustrating run with wet tracks. A downgrade in the track conditions prevented her from defending her Gr.1 Railway Stakes title at Ellerslie and she struggled in the ground when beaten in the Gr.1 Telegraph at Trentham.
She has won six of her eight starts on good ground in New Zealand with her one failure coming in the 2015 Telegraph. – NZ Racing Desk
The Matamata trainer will be represented at two meetings, but will have just one runner at each venue.
Her high class filly Capella has opened as favourite for the Gr.3 Wellfield Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham while stablemate and Gr.1 winner In Style tackles the Norwood Farm Machinery Centre 1200m at Matamata.
Capella has missed a couple of scheduled runs since her decisive victory in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.
She was a late scratching from the Gr.2 Royal Stakes at Ellerslie when the rain came and a minor setback meant she also missed the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m), on the first day of the Wellington Cup meeting, on January 16.
"She had a little virus a couple of weeks before [the Levin Classic] and her blood wasn't right," Guy said. "She was doing everything right the following week but we didn't want to take the risk of giving her a big float trip.
"We are really happy with her now. She's very clean-winded and a real athlete."
The Eight Carat was Capella's third win in the space of four starts and the Rip Van Winkle filly opened as a $2.80 favourite for the Desert Gold, with Coldplay ($7) and Black Sav ($8) the only others at single-figure odds.
Capella also heads the market for the Gr.1 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks on March 19 but the Gr.1 BMW New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie a fortnight earlier remains an option.
"We might have a better idea of whether we will head to the Oaks or the Derby after the weekend," Guy said.
"Though she still has to prove that she can stay. All the indications are that she will, but you can never be 100 percent confident before they try."
Capella is expected to make her middle distance debut in the Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa on February 13.
In Style will be attempting to get her campaign back on track after a frustrating run with wet tracks. A downgrade in the track conditions prevented her from defending her Gr.1 Railway Stakes title at Ellerslie and she struggled in the ground when beaten in the Gr.1 Telegraph at Trentham.
She has won six of her eight starts on good ground in New Zealand with her one failure coming in the 2015 Telegraph. – NZ Racing Desk