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FEATURE RACE COMMENT

 

YEAR: 2010

Late last month Cavalla Bloodstock bought Power Of Tara off the group of owners that had enjoyed much success with the big Live Or Die gelding. It didn’t take Power Of Tara long to register his first win for his new owner either. Just three weeks on he was winning the Blue Jean Cuisine Winter Cup and doing so at lucrative odds of $25.

2010 BLUE JEAN CUISINE WINTER CUP

Stephen McNally took the reins of the fourth-string Brendon Hill runner in the 3200m contest on Friday night. Bailey’s Dream, Harley Earl and Tennis Ball were all more favoured than their stablemate but getting up to the 3200m generally sees the big horse come into his own. This was the case on Friday night when a patient drive by McNally paid dividends with a late burst that gained a narrow win.

Rangataua Ray got closest to Power Of Tara -the pair combining for a $187 quinella. Nominal favourites Bailey’s Dream and Bettors Strike could only manage third and fourth respectively. The pair effectively cancelling each other in the running, which left it open for a swooper to upset.

The former Group 1 winner, Power Of Tara, is now likely to tick over before a tilt that the spring cups that culminate in the Christchurch Casino NZ Cup on November’s second Tuesday.


Credit: HRNZ Website

 

YEAR: 2011

2011 MAURICE HOLMES VASE

Power Of Tara was simply a class above his rivals last Friday night in the season’s opening Cup build up race. Power Of Tara and Bondy shared favouritism and when Bondy found the lead early he looked to be holding all the cards. Power Of Tara worked up handy and found the lead going into the final lap and it still looked to be advantage Bondy.

When the whips cracked in the home straight though only Power Of Tara responded. Bondy didn’t quicken from the trail and was nosed out of second by Mr Chrome who did well from third on the markers.

Power Of Tara had cashed in on his trouble-free build-up and cemented a spot in the Cup via automatic qualification for the win. He will look to enhance his Cup claims further this Sunday in the PGG Wrightson Hannon Memorial.



Credit: HRNZ Website

 

YEAR: 2010

Prime Minister John Key making presentation to Robert Famularo
2010 CHRISTCHURCH CASINO NEW ZEALAND CUP

Not everyone had given up on Monkey King. Benny Hill hadn't, nor Ricky May, or 'the Addman' - farrier Adam White, and not the Famularo family. And when Hill heard the noise of the crowd when May brought Monkey King onto the track for the Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup, he knew they were not alone. The Monkey faithful were back at Addington. It came again when May took Monkey King level with Smoken Up on the corner of the Cup, and the rumble became a roar when Monkey King drew clear.

For the little black horse, it was his second Cup win. It was easier than last year's when he held out Bettor's Strike by a neck. This time it was decisive, by a length and a half. It was slower than last year because of a stiff easterly wind. And again it came from a show of patience, calculation and confidence by May.

Instead of being off and around in the early stages, he waited. Rather than moving in the middle stages, when he could have, he waited. It was not until the last lap, when others had been and gone, that he made his solo run at the front. At the 800m he was second, in easy striking distance outside Smoken Up and Stunin Cullen, with Sleepy Tripp, Bondy and Kiwi Ingenuity nearby.

Turning in, Monkey King soon got down to business. May knew Monkey King could stay better than Smoken Up. He'd seen it happen before - at 5.20pm-ish at Addington this time last year. And he suspected Stunin Cullen had run along too keenly to have a kick at the end. That's when he knew he had another New Zealand Cup on a 'C V' that is already bulging with Cups, Trophies, Group wins, headlines and simply great drives. As simple as it was, this was one of them.

"I was pretty confident at the corner," said May. "Stunin Cullen had over-raced, but I was still expecting him to come at me, and I was going better than Smoken Up. I sent him at the two hundred. I was pretty happy early on because he got past four or five at the start. And that wind was a bit strong so I was happy to wait a bit. I waited until they went as slow as they did. And Benny has done just a big job to peak him at the right time."

Benny's done it before, and this occasion again emphasised how well he does it. "The racing he had this time was planned," Hill said. "The time he went away he won, and twice since then he didn't. At home, I kept an eye on his weight. I like to see their heads down, but I don't feed big." Hill had a racing weight of 430kg in mind for him, and he knew he was within an ounce of it when he "had a little blow" after a solid run in the Cup Trial. "I knew we were back...I knew we were right on track," he said. "It's just a guideline, one tool I have for getting him where I want him." Another is whether Monkey King has the shakes or not. "He's not in the zone if he does."

While Hill and his staff at Dancinonmoonlight Farm knew they had Monkey King just where they wanted him, they knew it was over to the Cup King to handle the start, where within a second or two he could win it as easily as he could lose it. "I just kept him jogging, keeping his mind active," said May. "He loves Addington and loves two miles. For what he's done - two New Zealand Cups, an Auckland Cup, running 1.50, winning the Miracle Mile - he's got to be the best. And one of his best runs was when he was beaten into fourth in the Victoria Cup."

Hill is wary of Monkey King when he is well, as he has been this past week or so. "He can be a little shit at home. He tried to take a nip out of one of our girls the other day and it wasn't feed-up time. And it can be more than a nip. But it's not something you'd want to knock out of him. It's part of his character."

While Hill was over the moon with the Cup win of Monkey King, he was quick to rate the run of Power Of Tara, who rattled into fourth after being near last at the corner. He qualified as an unlucky runner after losing his place inside the last 1000 metres. "I really love the horse and he has settled into out barn so well since he arrived. He has been getting home so well in his races, and is just a neat wee horse. Stephen (McNally) has done a great job with him," he said.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 11Nov 2010



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