In The Tidy Express and Zonza, Cambridge trainer Roger James might have the combination to deliver a one-two knockout punch in Saturday’s Gr.3 $70,000 Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup.
At their peaks, both mares have proven they have the ability to stand up in fields of the quality of the 2200m feature, which is set to be run on a slow track.
While she has failed in her last two starts in the Gr.1 Easter Handicap (1600m) at Ellerslie and the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa, Zabeel five-year-old Zonza finished second to multiple Group Two winner Moriarty in the Listed Lord Mayor’s Cup (2000m) at Rosehill on the corresponding weekend last year and went on to win the Group 3 Ladies Day Vase (1600m) at Caulfield during last year’s Melbourne spring carnival.
She finished fourth to Chintz in the Group 3 Westbury Classic (1400m) at Ellerslie in March and filled the same position three weeks later in the Group 2 Japan-New Zealand International Trophy (1600m) behind Viadana at Tauranga.
Volksraad five-year-old The Tidy Express went one better than her previous career-best result for third in the Gr. 3 Eagle Technology Stakes at Ellerslie when she finished second to Intransigent in the Group 3 Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m) at Hastings last start and James was leaning to her as the pick of his pair.
“Her run in the Hawke’s Bay Cup was enormous,” James said. “She covered 50 metres or more than the winner in search of better ground and to be beaten about a length, I thought her run was very, very good.
“She appeared to handle that heavy track, to my surprise, that day so she’s probably going into it the better of my two.”
In an open race in which both mares would have to rate as win contenders, that’s a good steer from James, who has expressed a high opinion of each individual in the past.
“We’ve taken her very patiently through. She had been a very weak, slow-maturing mare but I think she can win a decent one next season,” James added on The Tidy Express.
James admitted Zonza failed to live up to his high expectations of her in the Travis Stakes.
“I was disappointed with Zonza. She hasn’t disappointed me many times but it was well below par for her,” he said.
“She would have been on a plane to Queensland had she performed better. But I couldn’t fault her in any way afterwards so we’ve decided to go on with her and give her an opportunity in this race. I’ve been happy with her in the meantime.”
Leith Innes rides Zonza on Saturday from barrier five, while The Tidy Express drops to the minimum of 53kg for rider Danielle Johnson, meeting Hawke’s Bay Cup winner Intransigent half a kilogram better and with the benefit of barrier one.
