Amarula
Race Images PalmerstonNorth
Matamata trainer Peter McKay is considering a trials outing for his Hawkes' Bay Guineas winner Amarula before a return to racing.
Amarula pulled up sore after finishing seventh in the Gr.1 NZ 2000 Guineas at Riccarton last November and underwent an operation to remove a knee chip from his near foreleg after finishing third in a Te Aroha trial the following month.
Though McKay is pleased with Amarula's progress, he isn't rushing the son of Thorn Park.
"There's a chance he will trial at Waipa (on Thursday) or the following week," said McKay, who owns Amarula in partnership with his wife, Kim.
"He had three weeks in the box after his operation then we swum him for three weeks. He's like a bull, quite heavy, so he could do with a trial."
Amarula may resume in a Rating 85 sprint at Te Rapa next month or head to New Plymouth the following weekend.
"If he goes all right we'll just back off and wait for Ruakaka at the end of the season, then there's the meeting up there in early August," said McKay. "The idea is to have him ready for Hastings in the spring."
Amarula, a close relative to Sir Slick and Puccini, has won four of his 10 starts and placed on three occasions. He showed a liking for Ruakaka with a hat trick of wins on the track last July-August and returned there to finish fifth in the Listed Northland Breeders Stakes last September.
That Breeders' Stakes run topped him off for the Gr.2 Hawke's Bay Guineas, in which he defeated Scrutinize and Battle Time. He was then runner-up to Serena Miss in the Gr.2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes before his trip to Riccarton.
Amarula pulled up sore after finishing seventh in the Gr.1 NZ 2000 Guineas at Riccarton last November and underwent an operation to remove a knee chip from his near foreleg after finishing third in a Te Aroha trial the following month.
Though McKay is pleased with Amarula's progress, he isn't rushing the son of Thorn Park.
"There's a chance he will trial at Waipa (on Thursday) or the following week," said McKay, who owns Amarula in partnership with his wife, Kim.
"He had three weeks in the box after his operation then we swum him for three weeks. He's like a bull, quite heavy, so he could do with a trial."
Amarula may resume in a Rating 85 sprint at Te Rapa next month or head to New Plymouth the following weekend.
"If he goes all right we'll just back off and wait for Ruakaka at the end of the season, then there's the meeting up there in early August," said McKay. "The idea is to have him ready for Hastings in the spring."
Amarula, a close relative to Sir Slick and Puccini, has won four of his 10 starts and placed on three occasions. He showed a liking for Ruakaka with a hat trick of wins on the track last July-August and returned there to finish fifth in the Listed Northland Breeders Stakes last September.
That Breeders' Stakes run topped him off for the Gr.2 Hawke's Bay Guineas, in which he defeated Scrutinize and Battle Time. He was then runner-up to Serena Miss in the Gr.2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes before his trip to Riccarton.