Lisa Latta says winning feature races will become her priority next season.
The Awapuni trainer is poised to snare her first trainers' premiership with a 13-win buffer over Wanganui trainer Kevin Myers with just a handful of meetings left to run this season.
Latta and Myers were this week named as finalists in the trainer of the year category for next month's New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards, alongside the now defunct Cambridge training partnership of Tony Pike and Mark Donoghue.
While Latta still steadfastly refuses to accept she has the premiership in the bag, she says it has been a memorable season for her stable.
"We haven't had a lot of big-race winners but we've trained a lot of premier-day winners and Zennista winning at Auckland [in the Gr. 3 Sofitel Luxury Hotels Stakes] was great for her loyal owners," Latta said.
"I just like to better myself and keep improving. Once I win the premiership - and I'm not saying I've won it till the last day of the season - my focus will change. We'll probably focus more on quality and winning the big races."
Latta has won 86 races this season and will attempt to improve on that tally at Ashburton on Friday and at Otaki on Saturday.
Latta has four entries at Ashburton, with Unbelieveabelle and Ashburn Lane in the $25,000 RD Petroleum Winter Cup Trial (1400m), and Satanya and Turquoise on the undercard.
Ashburn Lane was an uncertain starter after getting a stone bruise earlier this week but Unbelieveabelle rates a leading contender.
"She's going really well. She's appreciated the better tracks down there and Michelle [Carston, Latta's Riccarton stable foreman] has been really pleased with her," Latta said.
"She was unlucky last start there. She missed the start but she was doing her best work late."
Unbelieveabelle has won six of her 32 starts, with two wins coming from her last four starts, including a Riccarton open sprint win two starts back before her fast-finishing third at Ashburton last start.
However, while she is contesting the Winter Cup Trial, Latta has ruled out a tilt at the Gr. 3 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday week, preferring to keep the Handsome Ransom mare to sprinting.
Latta said Satanya was "knocking on the door" and was "well and truly a winning chance", while Turquoise was back in grade and up to bouncing back from a disappointing resuming run at Ashburton.Latta will produce just two runners at Otaki on Saturday, with tenacious Hastings debut winner Lincoln Street contesting a strong Listed $50,000 Courtesy Ford Ryder Stakes (1200m) and Princess Lincoln tackling the Rating 75 sprint earlier on the card.
"It's a big jump up for Lincoln Street but he's come through that win really well. It won't be easy though. I don't think I've seen a stronger Ryder Stakes," said Latta, adding that Princess Lincoln's trackwork was the best it had been since her last win.
