The cup clock is ticking down on O’Ceirins Secret, who desperately needs at least one more win to keep his feature race prospects at Riccarton alive.
The promising stayer is currently well down the order of entry to the Gr.3 Christchurch Casino New Zealand Cup, but success at Woodville on Thursday would add much-needed momentum.
“He is really fit and well and working so good, I’m really, really happy with him.”
Such is the staying potential he has displayed in a light career, O'Ceirins Secret is being kept safe in the cup market at $18.The five-year-old son of Postponed has won three of his 12 starts with his latest victory over 2200 metres on the second day of the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival.
He then dropped back to 2000 metres on Livamol Spring Classic day to finish a solid third behind Wolfwhistle.“You don’t get many chances to run for $40,000 in that grade and with another 200 metres it might have been a different story, but he still went a huge race,” Cookson said.
“The more ground the better for him.”O’Ceirins Secret will revert to 2200 metres in Thursday’s Meat Company Dannevirke Stayers, in which Sam Collett will deputise for his regular rider, the suspended Johnathon Parkes.
Race rival Jimmy Mac also holds a New Zealand Cup nomination – he is a $26 chance in the pre-post Riccarton market – and his recent form suggests another bold showing.The Zed gelding has won two of his last five outings and last time out he finished runner-up at Hastings and beat O’Ceirins Secret home, although he meets that runner a kilo worse off this time.
