Nearea Franco, a gallant second to De Lovely in the New Zealand Breeders' Stakes at Addington last month, is headed to Sydney tomorrow for the group one $A100,000 Ladyship Mile at Menangle on Saturday night.
Nearea Franco, trained at Halswell by Steven McRae for Spreydon Lodge Ltd, is booked on a flight from Christchurch to Sydney tomorrow.
She has drawn two in the Ladyship Mile when she will driven by regular driver Craig Thornley.
She will be opposed by Make Mine Cullen, winner of the race last year.
Nearea Franco led in the Breeders' Stakes and went under by only a nose to De Lovely, who had the run of the race.
It is the first trip overseas for Nearea Franco, now a 7yr-old.
"We had thought about taking her the last couple of seasons but she has gone amiss," McRae said.
"We feel an operation last winter has been successful in bringing her back to her top form as a 4yr-old."
Nearea Franco had a pastern screwed.
"She never felt right for a long time and we finally found the problem, with a bone scan," McRae said.
Nearea Franco won seven of her nine starts at four, culminating in the Harness Jewels for 4yr-old mares at Cambridge in 1.54.4 for the mile.
She carried on to win the 2008 gr one Queen Of Hearts in Auckland and the 2009 Kaikoura Cup, and finished second to Monkey King in the 2009 New Zealand Free-For-All.
The daughter of Badlands Hanover was away fom racing for 11 months from December, 2009 and during that time produced a filly to McArdle by embryo transfer.
She returned to racing in November and won the Firestone Free-For-All at the New Zealand Cup meeting.
Franco Leggionaire, winner of two of his four starts and placed in the other two, has been sold out of the McRae stable to Perth.
The Falcon Seelster 4yr-old won his last start at Invercargill in December.
The most recent New Zealand-trained winner of the Ladyship Mile was Foreal, trained by Tim Butt and driven by Anthony Butt in 2005.
Anthony Butt is making the trip from Christchurch to drive Hawthornden in a $4000 race at Alexandra Park today. The 2yr-old colt, trained by Tim Butt, is his only enagement on the programme.
Hawthornden has been placed in his three starts, the last two after changing ownership and transferring to Butt from Graham and Paul Court.
He ran fourth behind Fly Like An Eagle in a heat of the Young Guns series at Alexandra Park on December 31 at his last start and won a trial at Addington on February 15.
Hawthornden is among five horses the stable has in Auckland for immediate racing.
The others are Stunin Cullen, Raglan, Elusive Chick and Exposed.
Elusive Chick ran Veste to a head in a heat of the Young Guns series for 2yr-old fillies at her last start.
Jay Abernethy has appealed the severity of a suspension and $3000 fine for incompetent driving at the Stratford Trotting Club meeting on February 13.
Abernethy admitted the charge that he drove Major Seelster incompetently by allowing the horse to pace for 1800m in a race for trotters.
He was suspended until March 3.
Remington has returned a positive test in a urine sample after finishing third at the Cambridge harness meeting on February 3, the Racing Integrity Unit has announced.
Remington is trained by Errol Downey at Kumeu.
Greyhound meetings scheduled for Christchurch on Thursday and Friday have been cancelled because of the earth-quake.
In their place, a 16-race programme will be run at Forbury Park raceway on Friday, John Carlyle, of the Otago Greyhound Racing Club, said yesterday.
The meeting will begin at 12.09pm.
