Rudyard doubles winning tally

Three-year-old Rudyard made an overdue return to winning form with a gallant performance at Te Rapa on Saturday afternoon.

The Tony Pike-trained son of Charm Spirit had been an impressive debut winner last season before losing his way.

“He’s just a horse that has been a work in progress. He’s showed a lot of potential, but it’s taken a while for the penny to drop,” stable representative Chris McNab said.

Rudyard settled outside the leader and responded gamely to rider Wiremu Pinn’s urgings in the run home to succeed in his first appearance over 1600 metres.

“He was up to the mile and that suited him, he’s out of a good, tough mare,” McNab said.

Part-owned by Waikato Stud, Rudyard is a son of Savabeel’s dual Group 2-winning daughter Lady Kipling and was purchased by Pike for $280,000 out of Windsor Park Stud’s draft at Karaka.