LOVERACING.NZ Thoroughbred Racing Update with Trackside NZ’s Emily Murphy on Mornings with Ian Smith including a deep dive into the weekends racing across the country
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Racing New Zealand
Thoroughbred Racing Weekend Preview | Trackside NZ’s Emily Murphy on Mornings with Ian Smith (4/10/24)
- Love racing does indeed your home of Thoroughbred Racing. - Delighted to say that we've got Emily Murphy with us this morning, of course you know Emily, she hosts the big Saturday on the telly on a Saturday afternoon and tomorrow they will be featuring races domestically anyway from New Zealand, from Todonga and from Harwar as well a little later in the afternoon and it's quite late because of daylight saving he hasn't kicked in on Australia, we've got classic racing coming in from Renwick in Flemington as well to talk about Emily, good morning to you and thank you so much for being available to us. - Hi Smithy, great to be with you this morning and as you said, lots to look forward to when it comes to the weekend and with spring really gearing up there's always plenty to think our teeth into. - There is indeed but unfortunately at the moment I think they're saying it's a heavy 10 which is not quite what you expect for in spring racing so and the feature tomorrow is the Wheelons Handicap, it's been a timeline and event for a long time out of Bay of Pleady, Mustang Valley might appreciate soft ground. - Yeah I was just going to say that so there'll be one trainer who's rubbing his hands together with regards to the change in weather conditions, Mustang Valley loves an off track and it makes her a really easy pick in that race because she's got class, we know how competitive she can be at group one level and she finds a really nice race here and you only have to look at her record to see why she's the favourite in that race and as I said she loved those heavy conditions that stood so long. She hasn't raced since the 24th of August when she caught the eye in the Foxridge plate but she's been to the trial since and Andrew Forsman's really good at keeping these horses up to the mark so she'll be fit and ready to go. She isn't flattered from a weight perspective that's I guess the big negative, she's going to carry 60 kilos and compared to horses like Chattahoochee and Valdez Aldo they're much better placed at the weight so that can really take more of an effect when you get on to those heavy track conditions but I guess for her she does get through the track so that is a plus. The latter Valdez Aldo does have a seventh beside the name but it was in a really bunched finish at Ellersley and that was a really good race, it was the race that Shamus won but it featured orchestral and horses like Campionessa and Valdez Aldo only went down by a small margin and I think Chattahoochee is a horse that can improve as well in that team wheel and smile at Toadonger. Anything else on the card that you're looking forward to seeing going around Emily? Yeah there's one horse that I was going to tip out as my bed of the day I'll get into it quickly it was archaic smile in the three-year-old race obviously all eyes are on that NZB Kiwi that's coming up in a couple of months time so the three-year-olds are really what we're focusing on and Tony Pike's stable's been great form and I think archaic smile meets a nice even field in that race at Toadonger. Hasn't Matt Cartwright made a statement since he's been here and how long will you think he'll be in New Zealand? Yeah it's an interesting question isn't I guess he just came with the plan of staying for sort of the spring and seeing how he went but he has been so successful I mean he's ridden the first group one winner so you'd be thinking maybe we could be lucky enough that he'd meet New Zealand his permanent home I'm not really sure from that perspective but I think he's definitely going to be sticking around for the summer and I guess if things keep going the way they're going he'd be mad to head back across the ditch with me. He sure would absolutely what he won't be riding at a hardware of course but there are some decent racers there including the Eggmont Cup where Kevin Myers holds a pretty strong strong hand and also they've got the Grains Williams Breeders Steaks as well featuring Town Cryo which at this stage is the favourite in the market so some good racing in the Taranak area. Yeah there is and you mentioned that Grains Williams stud Breeders Steaks and Town Cryo herself it gives me confidence that the fact that the connections were hoping to go to the Tarzino Trophy which would have been a good bit tougher than what she faces tomorrow. They gave her a bit more time they let her coat come through and they let her just really find her feet in the sprint and they look to have her spot on she's such a talented there and she's raced in great form last season winning this race last year beating a horse called Crowes who we know what what she's done while she doesn't need cut out of the track she can handle it Town Cryo so it'll only assist her if it deteriorates on the day so I think she's a really nice chance outside of that this is dramatic is another little other heavy track no rain never the three-year-old who's just turned four interesting to see where this horse fits into the neck and even ones like Wessex who brings a six from last start that was in pretty good company at Ellesley but Town Cryo looks to be the obvious one when you have a glance through that field yeah and as I said the Eggmont Cup is on to a stake of 60k it's it's been around a long time I can remember that as a kid way way back watching that race and LJ is at the stage of $4.65 as Amber Riddell who's had a pretty good start to her apprenticeship and she's riding for Kevin Myers who just continues to to train these distance horses yeah we can't underestimate a Kevin Myers runner especially just looking at the the odds on the TAB 5s into 460 there's plenty of interest in it of course LJ is a group three winner and he brings that last start winning form so he's been racing really well and you mentioned Amber Riddell she's been riding superbly of late so she'll take that valuable four kilos off which will really assist there are some other nice horses in the mix as well LJ obviously the favorite but when you look through the rest of the field there's it's pretty competitive in behind you got a horse like some Mickey for Joe Doyle and Lisa latter there always really potent when they combine these two and so Mickey brings really good overall stats with the two last start wins and there's one four and it's past five so there's some interesting horses in the mix when it comes to that race and battle secret even who's one it's past three looking for four straight so I think when it comes to Saturday we're just going to want to check track conditions the morning of the race and then unfortunately see how things deteriorate throughout the day if they do and that's going to really affect how these horses go on Saturday for a real watch when it comes to the weather later in the day of course Emily will be focusing and you and your team will be focusing of course on the big Saturday on racing come out of Renwick and Flemington and in particular you've got three group ones at Renwick the Dali stakes you've got the Metropolitan and the Epsom it looks to me as if Chris Waller may well be interviewed quite a lot over the course of tomorrow afternoon I think we'll see him tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening a hell of a lot with his runners oh gosh is there ever a Saturday where we don't see Chris Waller um training a lot of winners he's just so good at getting these horses ready for these feature group one races and time and time again he takes them home he's got some really nice horses that throughout the program just looking at that Dali flight states of course autumn glow won't be featuring but he's got horses like Lazura who's peeking third up uh Lady Shenandoah who is a last star winner seconds up Zach Lloyd on board um just a lot of really good depth to the horses and metropolitan we know his ability when training these stairs and even a stable like a water house major in bot they can't be underestimated when it comes to those staying races keep an eye out for a New Zealand horse trust in you in that metropolitan for a Grant Cooksley and Bruce Waller obviously with a pretty good stair in uh New Zealand and uh is over there doing his thing brings last up form down the field but did post a third prior to that so plenty of uh notion of course we're a move pin has been uh replaced in that in one of those races obviously with him not heading across and when it comes to the Epsom over the mile as well there's plenty to like through the field and and how these horses get into the race uh Chris Waller of course with also like over beaker and democracy manifest uh choir saw Molly Bloom even featuring in the mix as well there's a lot to look forward to when it comes to a big Saturday across the ditch and they're always pretty tricky these handicaps to sort out and it's who gets into the race best that can be very intriguing and if you haven't had enough they'll be racing on Sunday too uh with only synthetic you'll probably be having the day off then Emily we thank you so much for your time this morning um uh loving the show on the Saturday afternoon it's a must watch for me and I'm really enjoying it throughout the afternoon and to the evening so uh thank you for your fine work and thank you for your time this morning no worries Milly have a great weekend