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.
G3 TAB Mile trifecta for Waikato sires
Recording his first Group victory, and second at black-type level after success in the Listed Lindauer Stewards Stakes some 12 months back, Ocean Park gelding Mystic Park led home an impressive one-two-three result for the Waikato stallions, defeating Sir Albert (Savabeel) and Cannon Hill (Ardrossan) in Wednesday’s Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) at Riccarton Park.
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The Corner with Garry Chittick
Sometimes you wonder, other times you realise what’s the point. We have two new Board members to help guide Thoroughbred Racing to a brighter, more enlightened future. Now, I don’t know either, and I am sure they have been confirmed for the right reasons – I think my concern is where is it our leaders believe they are taking us.
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