Photo: Trish Dunell
Consistent galloper Aris Aris produced a powerful finish to down a talented line-up of winter gallopers when taking out the feature flat event at Te Rapa on Saturday, the Dunstan Horsefeeds 1300.
The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-prepared five-year-old mare had been thereabouts in her first three runs of this campaign, and with Niranjan Parmar claiming 1kg off her initial 54kg impost, she looked well-placed in the contest.
That was how it panned out as the daughter of Contributer sat back in the early stages as race favourite Turn The Ace ($3.30) set up a solid pace in pursuit of his seventh victory at the venue from just 12 starts.
Turn The Ace looked to be going well with 300m to run, however the effects of his 59.5kg began to tell at this point as he was joined by the well backed Dusty Road ($4.90) with Aris Aris ($10.90) chiming in wider out.
The trio set down to it with Aris Aris finding extra to take the victory from Dusty Road by a neck, with Turn The Ace a nose away in third.
“It was terrific to see her back in the winner’s circle after things not quite going her way of late, and great to get another win Gordon Cunningham and Greg Tomlinson,” Mark Walker said.
“They’re both great breeders and she’s going to make a lovely broodmare when retired from racing.
“We varied her training during the week to include some jumping and it really switched her on, and a gear change with the addition of a shadow roll, as well, I think made all the difference.”
Aris Aris is out of the six-race winning Darci Brahma mare Irish Encore and comes from an extended family that includes Iflooxcouldkill, the champion New Zealand two-year-old filly of 2003 who included the Gr.1 Ellerslie Sires Produce Stakes (1200m) amongst her three career wins.
She was bred and raced by Kevin Hickman ONZM, winning on debut at Taupo, and again at Wanganui, before being sold at auction on gavelhouse.com for $72,500 to owners Gordon Cunningham (Curraghmore Stud) and Greg Tomlinson (Nearco Stud).
Aris Aris has now won five of her 21 starts and over $128,000 in prizemoney. - Kevin Robertson, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
