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El Pistola is presented with an ideal opportunity at Te Rapa on Wednesday to edge closer to a shot at a major staying prize.
The Tokoroa-prepared mare has the Gr.1 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup as her top target and trainer Nathan Hanley looks to have found a perfect race in The Hits 98.6FM 2100 for the five-year-old to advance her winning record.
“She’s entered for the cup and it’s about navigating the right path from here,” Hanley said.Two runs back, El Pistola was an impressive Rating 75 winner on the course and she seems poised to deliver a similar result against a line-up lacking any significant depth. She has also displayed versatility with success on top of the ground and on rain-affected tracks.
“She should get a good run from the draw as well and it’s only a small field,” Hanley said. “She’s been going really well.”The scratching of the Group performer Zacada has made El Pistola’s task easier and she also proved superior to Bordeaux, who looks her main rival, the last time the two met.
The winner of three of her 16 starts, the El Pistola finished a last-start third in the Dunstan Feeds Championship Final on New Year’s Day. She was ridden there by Lisa Allpress, who again has the mount.“She didn’t have much luck and was caught three deep,” Hanley said. “It was quite a hard run, but she has come through it really well.”