Wexford Stables have unveiled a number of promising three-year-olds over the past fortnight, and the latest to shed her maiden status was Smart Love, who won the Fresh Choice Leamington 3YO (1600m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.
Following in the footsteps of stablemates Hankee Alpha (Te Aroha), Texas Hold Em ' (Ellerslie) and Smokotime (Pukekohe), Smart Love entered the mile contest as the top pick at $2.10, a reflection of two second-placed performances in her career to date.
The Savabeel filly jumped away positively under Masa Hashizume and sat on the speed early before settling back in the one-one. Hitting the lead early in the straight, Smart Love kept finding to the line and held off a charging Bella Montagna to score by a head.
Andrew Scott, who trains in partnership with Lance O'Sullivan, was pleased with the performance, particularly as she stepped out to the mile.
"She's continuing to improve which is very encouraging for us, you always hope that she would do so as the distances got longer," he said.
"She's got a bright future as she continues to mature and as her education levels increase, she hit the front there at the top of the straight and did very well to maintain a gallop right to the line.
"We're going to let her come through the race before mapping out a concrete plan for her, but she's a progressive filly."
Out of an O'Reilly mare Relentless Desire, Smart Love was bred by Waikato Stud and races in their colours, under the Chittick Investments banner.
The stable also had a trio of runners in the feature race, the Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1200m), and Geriatrix made a big impression storming into third from near-last on the corner.
"He's racing very well and the encouraging part for us was that he sprinted so well over 1200 at that level," Scott said.
"His sectionals were probably the quickest of the day, had they run it a little more true, he may have been able to run over the top of them. But it's encouraging signs for his future, that he can really quicken well at that class.
"We haven't made a decision as to where he's heading, we'll give him a couple of days to recover, but we feel the shorter trips are where his future lies."
Wexford's attention now turns to Te Aroha on Tuesday, where they will have 10 runners, including last-start placegetter Checkmate, who will have his second race-day appearance in the Prima Park 1400.
"We couldn't have been more pleased with his performance on debut, he's a horse with a good load of ability on him, while lacking a lot of confidence," Scott said.
"We popped him in the paddock for a couple of days after his debut, he freshened up nicely and the big roomy track at Te Aroha should suit him.
"We think that he's gone the right way since his debut, and hopefully he can go one better. We've got pretty high hopes for him this summer."
Ribkraka, Massari and She's All That will be split across the trio of maiden three-year-old contests over 1150m, and Scott has plenty of positives surrounding each runner.
"Ribkraka has made any amount of improvement from two to three, he's trialled up really well and his work has been super at home," he said.
"He's got a good gate and there's no reason why he can't be right in the finish there, he's a horse that's probably going to be better at 14 to a mile, but he should sprint well fresh.
"She's All That is a neat filly, she's come away from a good trial win in one of the quickest times of the day.
"She's been very encouraging and has a good turn of foot, high levels of fitness and should debut really well. We like her, she's a robust type of filly with a good sprinting summer ahead of her.
"Massari has trialled particularly well, we think she has a bright future ahead of her too."
In their older contingent, Scott noted Saxs 'N' Silks as a strong hope in the Prima Park 1400, while El Roca mare Cupid's Arrow will return in a fresh state after competing in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) in March, when she lines-up in the Riverrock 1400.
"She (Cupid's Arrow) has made really good physical development from three to four, but we certainly won't get her out to 2400 this preparation, she'll be looking for one corner racing," Scott said.
"Some of her form there, whilst she was a maiden, she was running into really good horses and running seconds and thirds. She's going to improve a fair bit with tomorrow's run under her belt, but she'll have a good summer ahead because she loves firm ground."
