Autumn Racing Day 3 Review

Punters expected BENZINI, the Hunterville trained traveller, to win the $100,000 Coca-Cola Canterbury Gold Cup but southern pride saw strong support for the Brian and Shane Anderton trainer TOMMY TUCKER. A big tip to the eight-year-olds chances of upstaging the favourite was the decision by senior partner and part owner Brian, on the persuasion of Shane, to stay over from the South Island Sales the day before. Ridden as usual by Jacob Lowry TOMMY TUCKER finished too powerfully to beat BLOODSTREAM and BENZINI in the Group 3 2000 metre races touted as the oldest weight-for-age race in the country.
The Shaune Ritchie trained NIKITA had stayed with Riccarton Park trainer Peter Rudkin after running fourth in NZ Bloodstock Airfreight Stakes two weeks earlier and improved to take the honours in the New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes. TUILANA finished strongly under Chris Johnson with SHOWEMUP, who had won the previous fortnight running third. That placing was enough to give SHOWEMUP the New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year Series.
The days open sprint honoured the retirement of Corin Mufitt after 50 years association as the official vet at Riccarton Park. The Jan hay trained PEPPER MILL under comeback apprentice Tina Comignaghi returned to winning form to beat the favourite WILLIAM WALLACE and FLYING IBIS.
Flying filly PROM QUEEN destroyed the field in the ‘gavelhouse.com Two-year-old’. The win was expected being the winner of three races from only four starts against a field mainly made up of first starters and she paid a microscopic $1.30 to win. DISRUPTION finished second and KILLA HEELS finished resolutely for third.

Matamata jockey Reese Jones is a born and bred South Islander being the son for Washdyke trainer Barry Jones but had in 605 career wins had never won a race in the mainland. That was rectified in the last race aboard PINSRAAD to provide some compensation for Otaki trainer Howie Mathews after SAMPSON had run unplaced in the Coca-Cola Canterbury Gold Cup.