NZ Briefs - January 6

Grylls lodges appeal; Smith breaks training duck; Endeavour to tackle further at Awapuni.

Grylls lodges appeal

Craig Grylls has appealed against his suspension incurred at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

He was charged with careless riding in the Gr.2 Royal Stakes after the incident that resulted in Ezra and De Kensington Oval coming to grief and was outed until January 31 and fined $1000.

Grylls pleaded guilty, but has appealed against the length of the suspension that, if it stands, will cost him the Group rides aboard Pure Champion and Graphic in the Thorndon Mile and the Wellington Cup.

Smith breaks training duck

Barry Smith celebrated the first winner of his training career when Tipperary quit maiden ranks at Ruakaka on Tuesday.

“It’s been a long time coming, but it’s been worth the wait,” he said.

Smith prepares Tipperary, a daughter of Choisir, at Karaka for prominent owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay.

“They have been great supporters of mine and I appreciate the chances they have given me,” said Smith, who was a foreman to Anthony Cummings for 17 years before moving to New Zealand.

Endeavour to tackle further at Awapuni

David and Emma Howarth’s talented mare Endeavour is set to take a step-up in trip after a strong performance to break maiden ranks in early December.

After a dominant two-length win over the mile at Trentham, the father-daughter training partnership opted to freshen the four-year-old daughter of Faltaat, who is now primed for the 2100m special conditions race on Saturday at Awapuni.

“We sent her to the paddock for a week following her Trentham win and she did well in that short time out,” Emma Howarth said.

“We were really happy with her gallop this morning and safely through Saturday’s race she can head to a similar race at the Karaka Million Twilight meeting on the 25th.”