The 2024-25 season is about to move up a gear for Lance Noble, who has eight entries this weekend including highly talented mare Luberon in Sunday’s Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215) at Rotorua.
The private trainer for Cambridge Stud sent out 19 winners from his Karaka stable last season, earning more than $1.2 million in prizemoney. He celebrated black-type successes with Habana in the Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) and Listed Fulton Family Stakes (1500m), About Time in the Gr.2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (2050m), and Aquacade in the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2050m).
Noble has saddled only a handful of runners so far in the new season, winning a 1200m Rating 75 at Ellerslie with Luberon and a 1300m maiden at Cambridge with Flash Effect. This weekend marks a big step up.
"We've got a nice team stepping out this weekend and I'm looking forward to it," Noble said. "We've been waiting for the tracks to improve a little bit, but now we're getting to the time where we need to get them out there. We have to get the runs into them before the good summer races start to roll around. It's an exciting time of the year."
Luberon 's first-up win at Ellerslie on September 21 was an impressive return by the Embellish mare, who carried 58.5kg to a hard-fought victory over fellow black-type performer Pericles.
Luberon is now the winner of four of her nine starts, along with a third in the Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1400m), third in the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) and fourth in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m).
"That was a very pleasing first-up performance and she seems to have come through it well," Noble said. "I've been really happy with her. The Sweynesse Stakes is going to be a big step up in class, but it'll give us a good line on where we go with her from here.
"I'm just hoping the track improves a little bit and hopefully comes back into the soft range. At this time of year, it only takes one day with a bit of sun, and things dry out quite a bit quicker. She'll be okay on soft, so I hope it comes back to that.
"I think she'll be fine getting around Rotorua as well. Some of her best runs have been left-handed, like her wins at Matamata and Te Rapa."
Eight-race winner Habana will line up as the 59kg topweight in Saturday's Gr.3 Valley D'Vine Restaurant Spring Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa, giving away 6kg to the likes of race favourite Witz End and stylish last-start winner Navigator.
"Habana's first-up run for fifth at Ellerslie was very good," Noble said. "He was just a bit on the fresh side and reared at the start, so he got a long way back. He didn't have a lot of room in the straight either, but ran on very well.
"He carried 60kg in that race and drops back to 59 here, albeit against what is probably a stronger field. I think he'll go well, although he does want a good track. He's a much better horse on top of the ground."
Exceedance filly Flash Effect takes a perfect one-start, one-win record into Saturday's Colliers Commercial 3YO (1400m).
"She's a promising filly who won very nicely on debut at Cambridge," Noble said. "She's come through that really well too. I think she's improved, which she's going to need to. She's up against a strong field on Saturday. Again, it's going to give us a good line on where we should go with her from here.
"We've got a couple of other nice chances at Te Rapa with Frostfair and Dazzled. Frostfair didn't have all favours last time, stuck three wide and also going a bit keenly. She's got a tricky draw on Saturday (12) and will need some luck, but she hasn't done much wrong in her short career. She can be a nice chance if she gets the right run.
"We've scratched Dazzled a couple of times, just waiting for better tracks. Hopefully she might get conditions to suit her this weekend. On her day, when it all clicks, she's very good."
