New Zealand trainer Mike Breslin is very happy with his talented galloper Ringo ahead of Saturday’s Winter Championship Final (1600m) at Flemington.
In a typically tough climax to the Winter Championship Series, a capacity field of 16 will line up with winning claims able to be made about almost every runner.
One of the six horses currently under double figures in the betting with sportsbet.com.au is the Kiwi raider Ringo ($7), who caught the eye with his hard-fought second behind Akavoroun in a heat of the series a fortnight ago.
It was the Fastnet Rock four-year-old’s first start in Australia and with added fitness, and a 1½kg weight swing in his favour on the winner, Breslin is confident of turning the tables.
“I’m really happy with him,” Breslin told the NZ Racing Desk this week.
“From when I left him to seeing him yesterday (Thursday), he’s a lot happier in the environment. He’s nice and bright and galloped really well in his final piece of work. We’ve got a good draw (4) and a good jockey and I couldn’t be any happier going into the race.”
Dwayne Dunn will again be aboard Ringo, having been impressed enough with him at his first ride on the gelding.
A winner of five of his 11 starts and only out of the quinella three times, Ringo is a very progressive horse and can handle all conditions. His latest run was on a good-rated Flemington track, but the chance of afternoon showers on Saturday won’t hinder him – he’s won on a dead track and is three from three on slow ground.
Breslin won’t make a decision on what lies ahead for Ringo, who is only third-up from a spell, until after the weekend but hasn’t ruled out returning to New Zealand to tackle the Group 1 Makfi Challenge Stakes (1400m) at Hastings next month.