The rising 9yr-old, owned and trained at Riccarton by Sophie Hargreaves, has not raced since he won the group three $70,000 Easter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton in April last year. He was then forced aside with a tendon injury. El Santo was back in work when he fractured a splint bone on the day of the February 22 earthquake.
"He is still quite fat but he has to start off somewhere and he has had two trials," Hargreaves said.
He won the open 1000m trial at Ashburton last week. The My Halo-Huff gelding has been dogged by injuries and his racing has been restricted to 22 starts.
He won a rating 90 1400m at the Hastings premier meeting in October 2009 and finished second to Who Knows in the Kelt Memorial there at his next start.
• Royal Flight is due back at her North Taieri stable today after curtailment of her North Island campaign through a foot ailment. It had been planned to start her in the Opunake Cup at New Plymouth on Saturday.
" I will have to see her foot but hopefully I can take her to the beach and have her right for the Winter Cup," Brian Anderton, her co- trainer, said.
Fritzy Boy is the highest rated horse in the Opunake Cup, a 1400m handicap with no horse allotted more than scale weight.
The winner is guaranteed a start in the $100,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton on August 6.
• Butch James, a maiden steeplechase winner at Washdyke on Sunday, has his next start over country at Wanganui tomorrow week.
Butch James had been brought down at the second fence in his other steeplechase at Oamaru on June 30.
He is trained at Hunterville by Adrian Bull, who is viewing the Sydenham Hurdles on the first day of the Grand National meeting for Borrack. The Black Minnaloushe gelding won over hurdles at Washdyke on Sunday, his third win in as many starts over fences.
