The victory of My Kiwi Mate in the harness racing Holloway Classic at Ballarat last week proved two important things.
Firstly, he proved he can match it with the best of his age group after taking down last start Victoria Derby winner Menin Gate in a scintillating time of 1;53.7.
And secondly, he underlined the faith that his connections have in him after purchasing the Bettors Delight – Classic Nymph gelding earlier this year.
Purchased by John Fitzgerald and placed in the care of Craig Demmler and Jodi Quinlan, My Kiwi Mate shapes nicely following three impressive starts on Australian soil to date.
My Kiwi Mate scored impressively first-up at Kilmore on April 29 before running an encouraging third behind Jewels qualified pacers Follow The Stars and Burnaholeinmypocket in the Reg Withers Classic at Kilmore.
His victory last Friday came as no surprise to his connections.
“We think a fair bit of this horse and we weren’t shocked that he was able to run down a horse like Menin Gate. We think he can match it with most three-year-olds going around at the moment and we’ll give him his chance to prove that.” Demmler said.
Connections are now looking at winter carnival campaign in Queensland during the month of July.
Sunshine state targets include the Gr.1 $100,000 Nursery Fly on July4, the Gr.3 $40,000 Gold Coast Derby on July 11 and the Gr.1 $150,000 Queensland Derby on July 18.
All feature events will be staged at Albion Park.
“He deserves his chance to head north and tackle those feature races and the carnival looks really good with great prizemoney on offer so we’re keen to head up and take our shot.
“We’ve got to make sure he holds his form and stays healthy, he will have another run or two down here and then we will make the trip. He keeps improving all the time and his form proves that, he’s a talented type and he proved that as soon as he entered our stable.
“I’m sure the Brisbane features will attract plenty of likely types but I’m confident our guy will measure up with the best of them. It won’t be easy with that sort of prizemoney up for grabs but I’m looking forward to the challenge while keen to take in some warmer weather.”
My Kiwi Mate was formerly prepared by Brian ‘Bunty’ Hughes in Auckland.
by Chris Barsby