South Island star Include is stepping into something of the unknown in Saturday's Gr.1 Fiber Fresh New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes at Te Aroha but connections have good reason to be confident she can measure up.
The weight-for-age 1600m feature for fillies and mares will be Include's first run in the right-handed clockwise direction of racing and she tackles a field packed with top-class performers.
Breeder-owner Wayne Stewart, who has accompanied Include in her trip north from North Taieri to Te Aroha, admits there are queries about how the Gallant Guru four-year-old will cope with those two factors but says her ability should see her overcome both.
"You just never know with her running this way around for the first time and whether she's up to this company but those questions will be answered on Saturday," said Stewart, who bred and races Include with his wife Karen, the daughter and brother of trainers Brian and Shane Anderton.
"On the times she's been running, she should be competitive. At Riccarton last time, they ran 33 and a bit (seconds for the last 600m) off the front and she came from a fair way off them. To be competitive in these big races, you've got to be able to run the sectionals."
Include has won 10 of her 15 starts, her fifth straight win coming in the Listed South Island Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes last start. That was the third stakes win of her career after last season's Dunedin and Southland Guineas.
"She's always done things right, even right from when we broke her in and began racing her. She's just answered every question we've asked of her," Stewart said.
"She travelled well and she's worked well since arriving at Te Aroha. She recovered a lot quicker from the Riccarton run than she did from the Ashburton run that start before. She's hard fit and really seasoned for this. She's got a good constitution and she's really well.
"This was the race Brian said six months ago we should target. She's ready to go for Saturday."
TAB bookmakers have Include on the fourth line of betting at $13 in a market headed by Spellbinder at $6.50 and Sports Illustrated and Atacama at $7.
Courtney Barnes, who has ridden Include in all but last season's New Zealand Oaks eighth placing, will have her first Group One ride aboard the mare on Saturday.
Stewart and his wife Karen, who arrived at Te Aroha on Wednesday, would not only savour a Group One win for Include on a personal note as breeder-owners but would relish a first elite-level success for White Robe Lodge stallion Gallant Guru. The couple manage the iconic Otago studfarm.
