I Do sets record

23 June 2014

I Do broke a long-standing Waikato Stud record yesterday when she triumphed in the Listed Tauranga Classic. It was the 13th win of the No Excuse Needed mare’s career and the most ever by a horse raced by the Matamata farm.

“Lady Aloof held the record with 12,” said trainer Allan Sharrock, who co-bred and part-owns the mare with the stud.

“She is getting better and better and Mark (Chittick) said to me do you want to breed from her and I said I think we’ll earn more from her foals than racing.”

She will be served in the spring and Sharrock is keen to give the rising seven-year-old one more crack at a top-flight race.

“I’d love to have another go at a Group One with her – she would be very competitive in a race like the Captain Cook,”he said.

I Do was sent out a dominant favourite at Tauranga and she never looked in any trouble. She raced behind the leaders before rider Jonathan Riddell asked her for a serious effort on straightening and they drew out for a comfortable win.

“She’s a class act and a beautiful horse to ride,” Riddell said.

“She’s got a great temperament and she’s not just a wet-tracker and I won a race (the Gr.3 Manawatu Challenge Stakes) on her on a good track.”

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