Royal Flight will gain 3kg relief from top weight of 60kg with apprentice Toni Direen in the saddle for the 1400m race for fillies and mares at Riverton on Saturday.
Royal Flight is back on the track where she won her maiden race in May, 2009. She has now won seven races and maintained her form this season. She was beaten a short head by El Chico in the Easter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton at her last start after a fresh up win over 1400m at Wingatui two starts earlier.
She has won an open 1400m at Riccarton and her minor placings include a third in the Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton and a second to She Rules in the Cuddle Stakes (1600m) at Trentham. She has proved capable on all types of ground.
Direen, who is apprenticed to Brian and Shane Anderton, the trainers of Royal Flight, has ridden five winners. The Andertons, who won the Canterbury Gold Cup last Saturday with Inferno, have Smudgee, Beata and Real Chance in the Riverton Cup.
Smudgee is the mount of another stable apprentice Shankar Muniandy, who rode Inferno. Smudgee has won three races this season including her last start at Wingatui on April 11 over 2070m on a heavy track.
She outfinished Beata by a length.
Real Chance, who is preparing for jumps racing, ran a bold second over 1400m at Wingatui on April 1 at his second start in a fresh campaign.
Lautenschlager, who mixed jumping and flat racing successfully last winter, is among the rivals for Real Chance. Lautenschlager is effectively 0.5kg better off at the weights with 54kg, 1kg above the minimum. He carried 53.5kg on a 52kg minimum last year.
• Adam Stewart, who has had one unplaced race ride, has been engaged for O'Cartier in the open sprint at Hastings on Saturday, The New Zealand Herald reports.
The 18-year-old, who is apprenticed to Grant Searle at Awapuni, will take the weight of O'Cartier down to 57.5kg.
The winner of 16 races and $408,322 O'Cartier will carry 2.5kg above the minimum.
O'Cartier has been ridden in his past two starts by Hayden Tinsley for a win at Trentham and a second to Guiseppina at Awapuni.
• Apprentices Jason Collett and Josh Adams made the perfect start to new chapters in their riding careers with wins at Canterbury yesterday, AAP reports.
Collett arrived from Pukekohe on Monday to begin a stint with trainer Chris Waller. He won on Needwood Lad, a stayer resuming over 1550m.
Adams transferred to Rosehill trainer Gerald Ryan last week and he rode a winner at his first ride for his new employer on La Bella Luisa.
Collett spent two weeks with the Waller stable last year on a scholarship and the trainer invited the 19-year-old back for the winter.
