Dolly's Wig, who won in dashing style at Oamaru yesterday when having her first start, is headed to the Canterbury Belle Stakes at Riccarton on September 17.
"That was the idea of starting her today. She would go on to the Canterbury Belle if she did not go shin sore," Nick Wigley, her Rangiora owner-trainer, said.
"She has won a trial and won a gallop the other day by nine lengths."
Dolly's Wig led throughout 1200m yesterday and won by a length and three-quarters in 1.10.23.
Wigley races the Snippetson-Buxom Babe filly with his son, Gus, of Auckland, publisher of the Informant, a racing form guide.
The Wigleys bought Dolly's Wig for $13,000 as a weanling at a Brisbane sale.
"We felt some of the Australian sires could leave something a bit sharper than our own," Wigley said.
He operates the Inglewood Stud at Kaiapoi, where prominent sire Beaufort Sea stood.
Wigley and his wife Carol raced Canterbury Belle, winner of the 1984 One Thousand Guineas at Riccarton and Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane when trained by Dave and Jan Kerr.
The Wigleys won the 1987 Canterbury Belle Stakes with Spangles, trained by the Kerrs. Spangles was having her first start.
Dolly's Wig was one of three wins yesterday for Matthew Cameron, the Auckland jockey. The others were Selenus and Keep The Conflict.
It was the third win in as many starts for Selenus since she joined the Riccarton stable of Jon Sargent with Andrew Carston the foreman.
Sartorial, who cleared maiden ranks with an all-the-way win, will be nominated by the NZ Two Thousand Guineas. He is held in high regard by his trainer Mark Harris, who is manager of the Hawkswood syndicate who race the Lord Of Warriors gelding. Pauline Stewart, sister of Mark, is also in the syndicate with her husband, Delwyn. Sartorial is the first horse Pauline has raced for about 15 years. She assisted her late father, Ray, in his Tuahiwi stable for some years.
• Jamie Richards won the race for amateur riders at Oamaru for the third successive year yesterday.
Richards combined with the Waiuku-trained Dane Ruler, who came from 10 lengths off the pace at the 800m.
Richards previously won the race on Never Plead Guilty and Noble Court. Richards (22) has had six rides in amateur races for three wins and two seconds.
He has completed a degree in management and accounting at Otago University between wins. Richards (22) has another year at university to complete a marketing degree.
Richards has combined studies with riding work for his father, Wingatui trainer Paul Richards. He has also worked during the summer for Cambridge trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie.
• Murray Hamilton was fined $500 at a judicial hearing yesterday for presenting the wrong horse to race at Riccarton on August 10.
It took the gloss off his win with Kid Columbus in the Grand National Hurdles the same day.
Hamilton admitted the charge. The mix-up occurred when his staff presented Imat Thebar to race for Margretta in race 10. The mistake was picked up at the plating inspection of the horses and the correct horse raced.
• Additional information for meeting today:
Racing Tauranga:
Scratching:
Race 3: Fletcher Babe.
Weather, fine; track, good (3); rail, true.
Hawkes Bay RI:
Scratchings:
Race 4: Bastille King.
Race 5: Taking The Mickey.
Race 6: Midnight Van Damme, Tridane.
Race 8: Pure Cruising.
Race 10: Lady Kipling, Miss Danni.
Weather, fine; track, slow (7); rail, true.
