With a quinella in Saturday’s Gr. 1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) done and dusted, trainer Pam Gerard is now setting about confirming summer plans for Romanoff and Affirmative Action.
The obvious route for the latest pair of Ballymore Stables stars is towards Ellerslie in late January for the $1.5 million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), followed six weeks later by the $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m), but Gerard is not rushing into defined decisions.
“I stayed down in Christchurch until Sunday afternoon to monitor them both and I was actually quite surprised how well they came through what was a pretty tough race in the conditions,” Gerard said during Tuesday morning trackwork.
“Their flight home was yesterday and they arrived back at the stables at 10 last night, so I’m looking forward to giving them some well-deserved time out.
“We won’t have a lot of time to play with – maybe 10 days, a fortnight – but that will give us the chance to talk things through with both sets of owners and set our plans in place.”
Romaonoff’s nose win over his stablemate in Saturday’s classic earned first option on the Canterbury Jockey Club’s NZB Kiwi slot, while Gerard doesn’t expect any shortage of suitors for Affirmative Action’s shot at the country’s richest race.
Romanoff went into the 2000 Guineas with just two spring starts under his belt and Affirmative Action with three, which was not by design but more out of necessity after a raft of programme rescheduling.
Affirmative Action was the more favoured of the pair after winning both his lead-up races at Ellerslie, while Romanoff confirmed his Riccarton mission with a brave third in the Gr. 2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) at Tauranga.
“There’s no denying Affirmative Action’s liking for Ellerslie, so that will make him an obvious target for NZB Kiwi slot-holders,” Gerard added.
“The race is obviously very tempting for Romanoff too, as there’s a million-dollar bonus up for grabs if he can add that race to Saturday’s win, plus I understand he’s up for an additional bonus as graduate of Karaka Book 2.”
Affirmative Action is equal second favourite behind unbeaten filly Well Written for both the Karaka Millions 3YO at $6 and NZB Kiwi at $8, while Romanoff is on the third line for both races at $7 and $12.
12 months ago Gerard prepared Savaglee to win the New Zealand 2000 Guineas, capping a superb spring campaign. The Savabeel colt added to that after Christmas with victory in the Gr.2 Levin Classic (1400m), third in the Gr.1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) and second in the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m).
“A race like the BCD Sprint looks like a good early option for both Guineas horses, but it’s too early to lock that or any other race in,” she said. “First things first, we’ll give them a wee break, see how they progress and take it from there.”
If Gerard needed any further reason to begin the week with an extra spring in her step, she got it with Savaglee’s return to her Matamata stable on Monday.
“He’s had a thorough build-up on the water-walker and that has been stepped up lately with work under saddle,” she said.
“I’ve been keeping tabs on his progress all the way through and everything’s looking good, so we’ll just let him settle back in here first and work through things before confirming any plans.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
