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Megan Liefting set her husband a hard act to follow on Saturday, but the Pukekohe trainer was up to the challenge.
She accompanied stable runner Joey Jonz to New Plymouth where he triumphed in the Energy City Ford Open 1800 and 15 minutes later at Arawa Park, Rudy saddled A Tad Leica to win the Rydges Hotel Rotorua 1400.
“We had Joey Jonz set for the Listed Anzac Mile at Palmerston North, but we didn’t get the rain that was forecast so we scratched him and Danza Lad on the morning of the race and I came home with them – this win makes up for that,” Megan Liefting said.“It’s getting quite difficult to split the pair of them up and it will be worse now with this win as they will both be rated about the same.
“Danza Lad will go to the Rangitikei Gold Cup and after that we’ll sit down and make a plan for this bloke.”Fourth when resuming at Tauranga last time out, Joey Jonz was ridden handy to the leaders by Dylan Turner and they rounded off strongly in the straight to beat Bel Sorriso and Mr Kanton.
A Tad Leica had finished runner-up at her first appearance of the year and she had no trouble going one better in the hands of apprentice Emma Smith.“The mare’s only 15.1 or 15.2 hands – her nickname’s Tiny, but she’s a winner,” Liefting said. “She’s a niece of Justa Tad and she’s got the same attitude as her.”
Justa Tad was an outstanding race mare for the Lieftings and was the dual Group One winner of the New Zealand Oaks and the New Zealand 1000 Guineas.The Istidaad mare has also made her mark at stud as the mother of the two-time stakes winner Move Faster, the multiple winner Just Got Home and the Australian Group performers Arianne and Tohunga.