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The future of the imported stakes winner Newton Prince will become clearer after he makes his New Zealand debut at Hawke’s Bay on Thursday.
The former Western Australian galloper has already impressed in a trial victory here and looks well-placed with 55.5kg in the Niagara @ Lime Country Sprint for a horse with his record.
“He was bought by a new client of ours, Richard Yui, and he’s probably on route to Hong Kong, but he needs a couple more rating points,” co-trainer Brendon Hawtin said.
“Richard has got four in the stable at the moment and it was a nice surprise to get this horse.
“We gave him a trial at Te Awamutu to see how he would go for the first time on a rain-affected track and right-handed and he coped beautifully.
“We got some good feedback from Opie (Bosson) and he would have loved to ride him at Hawke’s Bay if he had got his weight, but we’re more than happy to have Noel (Harris) on.”
Newton Prince has won three of his six starts and was spelled after he won the Listed Aquanita Stakes (1800m) at Ascot in December. He then finished fourth when resuming in the Listed Lex Piper Stakes (1600m) in March.
“He’s a horse that races midfield and he’s got a pretty fair finish on him,” Hawtin said. “Once he peels out and sees daylight he attacks the line.
“If he can bring his Australian form to Hawke’s Bay he’ll be very competitive. If he does stay in the country we would like to go back and contest one of the Triple Crown races – this one could open a few more doors.”
Among his opposition on Thursday is the last-start winner Weissmuller, who does hold nominations for all three Group One events at the Hastings spring carnival.