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New Zealand Racing News
Monday, March 27 2017

They say good things come in small packages and that adage definitely applies to Saturday's impressive Tauranga winner Ruby Bloom.

Ruby Bloom - Trish Dunell

The diminutive five-year-old mare made it back to back wins in this campaign when she squeezed through a narrow gap in the straight and then raced away from her rivals in the Bob and Jack Silson Memorial 1200. The victory came as a pleasant surprise to trainer Shaune Ritchie who is delighted with the progress the mare has made in her recent starts.

"To tell the truth I wasn't too sure how many wins she had left in her at the end of her last campaign where she had just picked up a maiden victory," he admitted.

"She is a lovely mare, very quiet and unassuming and a real honey but there's not a lot of her so I thought she might struggle up the grades.

"Her owners are just wonderful people, real salt of the earth and they told me she had come back well after a decent spell last winter and asked whether I would take her again for another preparation.

"She has just been a revelation this time in as she has continued to improve and that is now her second win in Saturday company."

Bred and raced by Peter Fox and his wife through their Egmont Lodge banner, Ruby Bloom has now made it three wins from 14 career starts with Ritchie keen to see her have her chance to add to that tally before the true winter tracks set in.

"She coped with Saturday's track pretty well but I doubt whether she could handle the really deep stuff," he noted.

"I think she probably has a couple more runs in her so she will most likely return to Tauranga in three weeks or head to Hastings on the same day. Those are the two tracks she has just won at so either should suit her nicely."

Ritchie also advised that his star three-year-old filly Bella Gioia has just begun to speed up in her work as he eyes the riches available at the upcoming Brisbane winter carnival with her.

"We are just starting to get serious with Bella Gioia now and she looks a picture," he said.

"She has really strengthened up after a break and as long as she performs well here then she will be on a plane to Queensland.

"She will most likely have a trial somewhere and then will kick-off in the Cambridge Breeders Stakes on 29 April. That will be the test for her as she would need to show us that she is up to the mark to confirm a Brisbane campaign."

Posted by: Racing Desk AT 10:23 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
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