Rudyard writes another winning chapter

Progressive four-year-old Rudyard has been in outstanding form this preparation and he overcame a
horror gate at Ellerslie on Saturday afternoon to add to his record.

The Tony Pike-trained son of Charm Spirit had to contend with the outside barrier in his open class debut over 1500 metres but quickly allayed any fears that might get the better of him.

“He just keeps improving and once I found the front, I was pretty confident it was game over,” successful rider Sam Weatherley said.

Part-owned by Waikato Stud, Rudyard was quickly into stride to cross the field to lead and, after forging clear at the top of the straight, he held a strong gallop to have a length and a-half on his closest rival.

“I left it completely up to Sam, he’s a pretty versatile horse,” Pike said.

“He’s deep into his preparation and was rock hard fit, he’s gone to another level this time in.”

Rudyard has now won three times and placed on a further four occasions from his last seven appearances, including a gallant run for third behind top-liners Desert Lightning and Legarto in last month’s Aotearoa Classic.

“He went the race of his life of life, it was a super performance,” Pike said.

“The Easter Handicap (G3, 1600m) might be a nice race for him, I’ll look at the programs and work our way forward.”

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.