Triumph turns to tragedy in Ruakaka opener

Initial elation turned to heartbreak for Darrel Lang on Saturday after Moochi Me bled for the second time.

The Cambridge trainer had taken every possible precaution in nursing the talented mare back to fitness and she duly won the Ruakaka Charity Race Day 1000 in a canter.

However, Lang was subsequently devastated when the four-year-old returned to scale under regular rider Michael Coleman.

“She’s bled again,” said Lang, who had brought Moochi Me back from a prior bleeding attack after she had finished runner-up in the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes in November.

The Dubawi mare’s career record of four wins and two placings from seven appearances gave just a brief glimpse of what she may have been capable of.

Sadly, the Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie-trained Willing Spirit was also found to have bled during the race.

On a brighter note, Amarula looks set to be a player in the new season’s early three-year-old features after his victory in the Donovans Trade Zone 2YO.

The Thorn Park colt had also won on the course last month for Matamata trainers Peter and Jacob McKay.

“We’ll take it a race at a time with him, but if he does well there’s a stakes race back here at Ruakaka for him and then we could go forward to Hastings,” Jacob McKay said.

“He’s obviously well-related being a half-brother to Little Wonder and out of a half-sister to Puccini and Sir Slick so it would be nice to get some more black type with him in the future.”