OTI is well represented this Saturday at the highest level in both Australian and New Zealand, with last start winner Vin de Dance heading to the G1 Stakes at Ellerslie and Night’s Watch contesting the G1 Australian Cup at Flemington.
Last season’s New Zealand Derby winner Vin de Dance is off to a tremendous start this campaign taking out the Listed Kaimai Stakes (2000m) at Matamata last start for the Baker/ Forsman stable.
Forsman was pleased with how Vin de Dance has come back from his recent spell as the stable eyes a major target in Sydney in the coming months. “He has come back better than we could have imagined and he has improved out of sight since then,” he said. The Bonecrusher looks the perfect stepping stone as he heads to Australia for the G1 Sydney Cup and we are looking forward to seeing him right in the finish in what looks to be a tough weight for age field this weekend.
Third run back from a spell Night’s Watch heads to Flemington to once again go head to head with short priced favourite Avilius in the 2000m Australian Cup. Night’s Watch is working well under the watchful eye of the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace team who are looking to turn the tables in this Saturday’s G1 feature.
Damian Lane takes to the saddle again this start looking to make use of the good draw. OTI’s Terry Henderson believes that “fundamentally, we need to be in the first six and if we’re not we’ll be up against it as Avilius is a more brilliant horse.” A resilient weight for age race with multiple group winners amongst the field, OTI are hoping to go one better than Gailo Chop’s close second place in the 2018 edition.
The G1 Stats
Horse: Vin de Dance
Race: G1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (Weight for Age)
Location: Auckland Racing Club – Ellerslie, New Zealand
Distance: 2000m
Trainer: Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman
Jockey: Matthew Cameron
Barrier: 2
Start Time: 2:50pm (ADST)
Horse: Night’s Watch
Race: G1 Australian Cup
Location: Auckland Racing Club – Ellerslie, New Zealand
Distance: 2000m
Trainer: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace
Jockey: Damian Lane
Barrier: 7
Start Time: 4:35pm (ADST)
