Rain doesn’t dampen Karisto’s parade

Smart three-year-old Karisto has added versatility to his list of credits.

The son of Written Tycoon was a smart winner on a decent surface last month before he successfully coped with heavily rain-affected ground at Rotorua on Saturday.

The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman trained chestnut was in or near the lead, albeit three wide, and kicked on strongly in the Burton Construction 1400m to down his stablemate Ladynadel, who had the more economical passage.

“It was a very good effort, obviously he covered a fair bit more ground than the runner-up so it was a gutsy run,” Forsman said.

“It was quite a testing track, a lot worse than when he won at Te Rapa, so that was a concern. He’s gutsy.”

Karisto was ridden by Jonathan Riddell, who said the chestnut showed his fighting qualities to post the third win of his nine-start career.

“He’s in good form and got through the track – he’s a very tough horse.”

Placed in the Listed Mufhasa Stakes (1300m) earlier in her preparation, Ladynadel gave another strong account of herself by finishing gamely close to the fence.

“She keeps putting her hand up with good, honest races,” Forsman said. “She probably deserves to win one before she goes out.”

Comeback also gave a good account of himself to get third after missing the jump and tailing the field to the turn.