Rudyard in top form for Group 3 test

Ever reliable four-year-old Rudyard produced a flawless dress rehearsal for an upcoming
stakes challenge with victory at Pukekohe Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Tony Pike-trained son of Charm Spirit was successful in the open sprint over 1300
metres, initially dead-heating for first before he was awarded the race on his own after a subsequent inquiry.

Rudyard settled midfield off the fence for apprentice Lily Sutherland and finished strongly in the run home, despite being inconvenienced by a wayward runner on his outside.

“He’s gone to a new level this preparation and we were looking at going down to Trentham, but stayed closer to home and he’ll run in the Easter Handicap (G3, 1600m) in a fortnight,” Pike said.

He has now amassed four wins and five minor place finishes from his nine runs this time in.

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.