Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta posted an early double on her home track on Saturday where Thorn Pass and Reilly Lincoln both showed they were ready for stiffer assignments in the immediate future.
Thorn Pass set the tone when he demolished his rivals by six and a half lengths over 2300 metres in the day’s opening event while one race later Reilly Lincoln showed her preference for the 1200 metre dash when beating a quality field of rating 85 sprinters.
“He seems to have really benefitted with the addition of a hood this time in,” explained Latta.
“We tried it once with him as a three-year-old but he was just too weak to make any use of it. He has really strengthened up this time and was unlucky not to win at Otaki.“He was very impressive on Saturday so he will now have a go at the Summer Cup over 2400 metres on Wellington Cup Day.”
Latta was also pleased to see Reilly Lincoln bounce back to winning form after unplaced efforts at her last two starts.“I think we learned that she really is just a 1200 metre sprinter at the moment,” she said.
“She won nicely twice over that distance at the start of this prep and then went a beauty at Christchurch in stakes company. We tried her over 1400 metres last time and she faded away so I think we will keep her to the shorter trip for the time being.“There’s not a lot around for her now but the goal will be to get some black type with her if we can.”
Latta was also pleased with the performances of Mighty Solomon and China Star who both finished runner-up in the two feature events on the programme.“I thought they both went well and just met one better on the day,” she said.
“Mighty Solomon is always a little vulnerable when something can come off his back like Ringo did. He was carrying a big weight so it will clean him up nicely before he tackles the Thorndon Mile at his next start.“China Star has really come on lately and I think in twelve months time she will be a real cups horse. She only just got nabbed in a blanket finish so I was thrilled with the run.”
