An unusually long Wellington Cup carnival gets underway at Trentham on Saturday, and Lisa Latta is looking to get the four-week sequence off to a winning start.
This weekend’s Listed Japac Homes Marton Cup (2200m) meeting was originally scheduled to be held at Latta’s home track of Awapuni, but was relocated after the abandonment of the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m) fixture last month.
It means there will now be four consecutive Saturdays at Trentham through January, with showpiece races such as the Gr.1 JR & N Berkett Telegraph (1200m), Gr.1 Harcourts Thorndon Mile (1600m), Gr.2 Life Direct Wellington Guineas (1400m) and Gr.3 NZCIS Wellington Cup (3200m) all coming thick and fast over the next few weeks.
Latta has one of those major prizes firmly in mind as she prepares to saddle He’s A Doozy in this Saturday’s Richard Simpson Contracting (1600m).
The Zacinto gelding found career-best form in the spring, following a second placing in his resuming run with back-to-back victories in the Gr.3 Thompson Handicap (1600m) at Trentham and the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) at Riccarton.
“The Thorndon Mile is definitely the main target with him now,” Latta said.
“He’s coming along really nicely. We gave him a couple of weeks out in the paddock after the Coupland’s, and I’ve been happy with the progress he’s made since he came back in.
“He had a very nice trial the other day at Foxton, and this race fits in nicely in his programme with a three-week gap into the Thorndon Mile.”
The TAB rates He’s A Doozy a $7 chance for the Thorndon Mile, sharing third favouritism with Prise De Fer. The market leaders are La Crique ($4) and Coventina Bay ($5).
Another interesting member of Latta’s Trentham team on Saturday is unbeaten three-year-old Diamond Thief, co-bred and part-owned by fellow trainer David Haworth.
The three-year-old son of Belardo was a two-time trial winner at Foxton before making his debut at Otaki on December 16, where he produced a strong finish to score by a length.
Diamond Thief will come up against Group One performer Best Seller in Saturday’s Te Akau Racing 3YO (1200m), which will provide an early indication of how he might measure up in feature age-group company. Latta has nominated him for the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) on March 18, for which he is rated a $41 chance.
Meanwhile, Latta could also be in line for a shot at a big race in another part of the country later this month, with Diss Is Dramatic testing the northern waters in Sunday’s NZB Karaka 2023 Trainers Series (1500m) at Pukekohe.
This will be only the second start right-handed for the Dissident filly, who was unplaced when she ventured north for the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) last summer.
A strong showing this Sunday could earn her a return to that blockbuster twilight meeting for a shot at the Karaka Million 3YO Classic.
“She’s eligible for the Karaka Million 3YO Classic, so we just want to give her a run that way around and see how she goes,” Latta said. “We can make a decision after the race on whether we push on and give her a crack at the Karaka Million.
“I’ve been pretty pleased with her over the last few weeks. I think she’s taken plenty of improvement from her last-start run.”
Diss Is Dramatic has won three of her 10 starts, including black-type successes in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton as a two-year-old and the Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1600m) at the same venue in October.
