Irish Mist bounces back at Ellerslie
A six-week break has done the world of good for progressive three-year-old Irish Mist who returned to the top rung of the podium with a victory at Ellerslie on Saturday.
Pukekohe Park trainer Michael Rogers, who prepares the Guillotine gelding
with father Matt and younger brother Matthew, has always held a high opinion on
his charge but immaturity and greenness had plagued him throughout his earlier
campaigns. An untimely stone bruise suffered after a run at Ellerslie in April
played in his favour with Rogers pleased to see the development in the horse
that took place while he was on the easy list.
"We’ve known he could gallop from early on but he has been
very weak and quite wayward up until now,” he explained.
"He has run a number of nice races but that weakness just
told on several occasions. When we found he was suffering from a stone bruise we
tipped him out which worked out well as he thrived during the time off.
"He still has plenty of maturing to do, both physically and
mentally, but he is on the right path now and I hope he can live up to the
promise he has shown us to date.”
Despite registering his maiden victory on a heavy surface at
Rotorua last year Rogers was in some doubt about Irish Mist’s ability to handle
the testing surface that prevailed on the weekend.
"We don’t think he is an out and out wet tracker as he ran
second on a good track at Pukekohe one day,” he noted.
"When I saw how heavy it was on Saturday I thought he might
struggle but to his credit he displayed plenty of grit in the final stages and
beat a couple of nice types in the process.
"I think he will be best on a track with some cut in it so
that’s what we will try and place him during the winter. A track like Te Rapa
should suit so I think we will take a look there this weekend and then maybe at
some of those Ruakaka meetings after that.”
– NZ Racing Desk