Dating Adds Gr 1 Form To Her CV

Dating added a Gr 1 credit at Trentham yesterday to her impressive record when she finished a brave third in the Captain Cook Stakes. The WS-bred and owned mare was given a dream run near the pace by Jonathan Riddell and the daughter of O’Reilly fought on stoutly in the straight.

The four-year-old had won five of her previous 13 starts, including the Desert Gold Stakes and Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes at Gr 3 level, for Tuhikaramea trainers Graeme and Debbie Rogerson. At her previous appearance she had finished a luckless sixth in the Gr 2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes.

“It was our bad decision to tell the jockey to press forward at Pukekohe and she got caught too wide,” Debbie Rogerson said.

Dating is out of the stakes-winning Sound Reason mare Mandate and is a sister to the multiple winner Miracle Miss who also placed in the Gr 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas. It is also the family of the Gr 1 Auckland Cup winner Senator.

WS stallions further made their mark at Trentham with No Excuse Needed siring the impressive lower grade staying winner Santos and Pins’ daughter Starpin completed consecutive wins in the lower grade sprint after her previous Te Aroha success.