Te Akau's newly established head trainer Jamie Richards took a strong team to the Te Rapa trials on Tuesday, showcasing the potential prominence the tangerine and blue silks will have in the spring.
Last season's champion New Zealand two-year-old Melody Belle was impressive in her 900m heat on Te Rapa's inside track.
Richards is hoping for big things from the Commands filly, who had
somewhat of a disappointing three-year-old season, despite winning the Gr.3
Mongolian Khan Trophy (1200m) on Karaka Million night.
"I'm really pleased with her," Richards said. "She's the biggest and strongest she's been.
"Her three-year-old career didn't go the way we had planned, but often those good two-year-olds can miss a year and we're looking forward to the four-year-old season with her.
"At this stage, she'll trial in three weeks at Te Teko and then she'll run first-up in the Foxbridge and all going well will head toward Hastings."
Age of Fire, a potential Cambridge Stud stallion prospect, didn't favour the track conditions in his 900m heat, finishing at the tail of the four horse field and will join his stablemate at Te Teko in three weeks.
Richards said he will be focused on shorter distances this spring after the Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) winner disappointed in his unplaced runs in the Gr.1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) and Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) in his Australian autumn campaign.
"We probably tried to make him stay as a three-year-old," Richards said. "We believe he is a sprinter-miler, so we'll just keep him short and sharp for the meantime.
"He'll trial at Te Teko. He probably just didn't like the track conditions out their today. He's a rising four-year-old entire and Opie (Bosson, jockey) said he had really come on with it. He's a lazy, laid-back sort of horse that probably needs the blinkers back on as well."
Meanwhile, stakes-placed three-year-old filly Swing Note and promising gelding Te Akau Shark were both impressive in their respective trial wins over 900m on Tuesday.
"Te Akau Shark trialed really well," Richards said. "He had his few issues in his three-year-old year and the owners were really patient and gave him a good spell and I think they will be rewarded for that this season.
"We'll just take him along quietly and he'll trial again and we'll find a suitable race to kick him of in. We believe he is a genuine black-type horse.
"Swing Note didn't have a lot of luck toward the end of her three-year-old year. She got lumped out three-wide in the Lowland and then led in the Oaks, but she's a classy filly and we'd like to get her ready for the Spring Classic at Riccarton that we won with Grazia last year.
"So he'll go down to the South Island nice and early as part of our team for down there." – NZ Racing Desk
