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Richard Collett’s luck is due a change for the better after a frustrating run with a couple of younger members of his Pukekohe team.
Lady Royale is on the easy list after pulling up with a heart issue following the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes while Shanzou missed a black type opportunity when he lost his rider in last Saturday’s Gr.3 Bonecrusher Stakes.
Collett will be hoping for a reversal in the stable’s fortunes on Wednesday at Ruakaka where Turret Hill looks a decent chance to add to his winning tally for the season.He is one of the form runners in the Harcourts Bream Bay 1600 after winning two runs back and following up with a solid fourth at Avondale.
Collett expects Turret Hill to be better-suited to the mile than his stablemates Hot Mustard and Proud Life.Meanwhile, barn mate Lady Royale, winner of last season’s Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes, will be given the necessary time to recover after she dropped out quickly when resuming at Hastings.
“She had quite a solid trial on a heavy track and was quite keen, but we were happy enough going into the Gold Trail,” Collett said.“Her recovery rate was slow after the race and we got her home and had a full cardiograph done. She had a heart strain and that generally rectifies itself in about three weeks.”
Collett had further reason at Ellerslie on Saturday to rue a lost chance when Shanzou, who had bolted away with a Tauranga maiden at his previous start, reared at barrier rise in the Bonecrusher and dislodged rider Leith Innes.“He went up in the air at the wrong time so he let himself down,” he said. “The first two (Volkstok’n’barrell and Passing Shot) are smart horses and I thought we could have run third and got a bit of black type.”