Confidence in heavenly Otaki result

Part-owner and trainer Lucy Tanner is brimming with Boxing Day confidence with her capable six-year-old Heavens Keep.

The Awapuni trainer is bullish about the Savabeel gelding’s winning prospects in the Manawatu Standard Summer Cup at Otaki.

“He’s rock hard fit and I galloped him this week and his work was sensational, I expect him to be right in amongst it,” Tanner said.

Heavens Keep wasn’t disgraced when ninth in the Gr.2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile at Riccarton two runs back and he has since finished fourth on his home track.

“It was 41 days between races and he just peaked on his run and he only finished a bit over a length from the winner,” Tanner said. “He has really come on since that.”

Heavens Keep’s regular rider Johnathan Parkes, who has won three times on the horse, has commitments at Ellerslie on Monday and Christopher Dell has been booked as his replacement.

“I think the horse is up to Group company, but he has to be ridden right and Johnathan knows him so well,” Tanner said.

“He needs to be able to find his feet without being bustled to get into a reasonable position.”

Safely through Otaki, Tanner will be searching for likely options to give Heavens Keep another opportunity beyond a mile.

“We’d like to get him over a bit more ground and then look at some handicap races in the late summer and early autumn,” she said.

“He’s only raced beyond 1600 metres once and that was on a wet track at Awapuni and he didn’t handle the ground.”