Canterbury stayer Dee And Gee could complete a remarkable journey when she and two of her stablemates line up in the New Zealand Cup at Riccarton today for trainers Peter Corbett and Terrill Charles.
The Wellington Cup placegetter looked primed for today's 3200m handicap when second behind Duplicity in the Metropolitan Handicap at Riccarton last weekend.
Victory in the New Zealand Cup was the last thing Corbett and Charles were thinking about when the 6yr-old entered their stable.
The mare gave the training partners some less than impressive exhibitions after she arrived from the North Island in early 2017.
"Dee And Gee - she couldn't get warm when we got her," Corbett said.
"When we first galloped her, Terrill said 'send the bloody thing back'.
"We ran her in a four-horse trial and she did nothing, but Tanya Jonker said she'd ride her in her next race. She bolted in and she hasn't looked back since."
Dee And Gee's recovery cannot match what Charles has overcome to be at today's races.
Four years ago, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and given just four and a-half months to live.
At her last appointment, her specialist told her: "You've lasted four years now, there's no reason you can't last another four."
Dee And Gee ran second in last season's Wellington Cup and fourth in the Auckland Cup.
She crossed the line in the Metropolitan Trophy close up with fellow cup contenders Duplicity (1st), Soleseifei (3rd) and Nymph Monte (4th) in a blanket finish.
Dee And Gee drops from 59kg to 54kg and Nymph Monte from 58.5kg to 53.5kg.
Corbett and Charles also start Owen Patrick and King Of The Dance in the New Zealand Cup.
Their three-horse team have progressed through to the feature event under their trainers' unconventional training regime.
Part of their training includes working on the couple's farm, along roadsides and even across the Ashburton River.
"Sometimes a horse can go stale just working at the racetrack and we enjoy training the horses this way just as much as they do," Charles said.
"We've got seven or eight different-sized blocks but on average they would work 6km a day and up to 16km on a slow-work day."
Corbett and Charles are happy with all three runners.
"King Of The Dance is probably a year away but he's fronted up on the way through so we thought we'd give him a go. He'll be a stronger horse next year but we'll take the chance.
"Owen Patrick won the Banks Peninsula Cup well the other day and my gut feeling is he will get the extra distance."
- By Jonny Turner and NZ Racing Desk
