A gritty win at Trentham on Saturday has confirmed a start in the Gr.3 eStar Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton for promising mare Red Sierra.

The Redwood four-year-old is riding the crest of a form wave at present having won three of her last four starts.

 Saturday’s effort in the testing Heavy11 track conditions that prevailed was as impressive as any of her recent runs as she cruised to the line with her ears pricked after appearing to struggle to gather momentum at the top of the Trentham straight.

Ridden patiently by regular pilot, apprentice Charlotte O’Beirne, Red Sierra found a powerful finishing burst when angled into the clear at the 200m mark as she strode past a gallant Perfect Harmonee to score by a neat length in the rating 85 1200m contest.

Co-trainer David Haworth admitted he had some concerns about the testing nature of the Trentham surface before the race.

“I thought she would struggle,” he said.

“I had a good look at the track and took Charlotte out and we both had a good look at it. To Charlotte’s credit she rode her exactly how I asked her to.

“She’s a funny little thing (Red Sierra) but she keeps doing the job so you can’t ask any more.”

Haworth confirmed the mare would be heading to Riccarton to tackle the Winter Cup, the feature flat race during the three-day winter carnival.

“She will head to Christchurch for the Winter Cup as her next assignment,” he said.

“She look’s like she’s not finished yet. She gets to the furlong and seems to find another couple of gears.

TAB bookmakers responded quickly to the performance as they installed the mare as the clear favourite for the Winter Cup at $5 on the Fixed Odds market.

She sits on the top line of betting ahead of Deals In Heels and She’s Poppy ($6) with another Trentham winner in Dez at $8 as fourth favourite for the race that will be run on 4 August.