NZ HARNESS NEWS
Top trotting mare Sunny Ruby, missing under a niggling injury cloud for the first four months of the season, may be a surprise entry for the feature trots at Auckland in December.
Weedons trainer Sam Smolenski says the plan is to start last season’s New Zealand and Australian Trotting Mare of the Year at the Ashburton trials next Tuesday.
“We will probably go to Auckland with her as there isn’t a lot down here for her next month,” Smolenski said.
“The open class trotters don’t seem as strong as last season so that’s another reason to go.”
He intends to ship her north again to Cambridge trainer David Butcher, who took over her training 12 months ago to win the Gr. 2 Lyell Creek Stakes in a then NZ record of 2:42.9 for the mobile 2200m at Auckland on December 16.
Butcher also ran fourth with her in Quite A Moment’s Gr.1 National Trot at Auckland on New Year’s Eve and second from a second row draw to Daryl Boko in the Gr. 3 Te Awamutu Trotters Flying Stakes at Cambridge in early January.
“I don’t want to travel that far as I’m busy enough here,” Smolenski said.
Smolenski has set up a new training property on Wild Road and has 12 in work – twice as many as he initially wanted, but a couple of helpers are easing the workload in the mornings.
He then works as a chiropractor in the afternoons.
Sunny Ruby pulled up with a tendon problem after the Anzac Cup in Auckland in April.
Her career was on tenterhooks a month ago after a scan wasn’t that positive, but Smolenski is happy with the mare’s subsequent progress.
“We won’t really know until race day as you never know until then with any soreness issue,” he said.
But the fact Sunny Ruby had never had a problem previously will hopefully stand to her.
The six-year-old Sundon mare will be looking to extend her impressive career record of 64 starts for 19 wins and 14 placings for $362,020.
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