No Excuse Needed Colt Chasing Black-Type

No Excuse Needed will have a genuine early season black-type contender in Taurus, who broke his maiden in fine fashion at New Plymouth on Saturday. The colt delivered on his two-year-old potential with a commanding front-running performance to win on his return from a six month break.

“He’s got a lot of ability and we’re looking at the Wanganui Guineas for him,” Wanganui co-trainer Evan Rayner said. “He’s not as forward as I would usually have had him so he’s going to improve a lot and the three kilo claim certainly helped him.”

Taurus, who finished runner-up in all three of his starts last season, was partnered by Amy Taylor and they bounced to the lead and were coasting on the home turn. With a minimum of encouragement the three-year-old drew clear in the straight to score by a length and three-quarters. “He’s come up well after we had to put him aside after he jarred up on the hard tracks and had a little operation on a joint but he’s over all that now,” Rayner said.

A brother to the WS-bred and sold winner First Date, Taurus is out of the Jetball mare Stars In Her Eyes who won five races and is a sister to the Listed Castletown Stakes winner Kinetic. It is also the Gr 1 family of The Pooka (New Zealand 2000 Guineas) and Rubiscent (Underwood Stakes).